Former Tottenham Hotspur attacking midfielder Alex Pritchard looks set to join Huddersfield Town from Norwich City, with Sky Sports claiming that the Terriers have agreed a £10m fee with the Championship side for the 24-year-old.
A product of the Spurs youth academy, the Orsett-born playmaker was only afforded two Premier League starts in North London before being sold to the Canaries in 2016.
However, with Pritchard closing in on a Premier League return, were Tottenham too quick to sell him?
The Sours youth system has been firing in recent years, with the likes of Harry Kane, Harry Winks, Nabil Bentaleb, Ryan Mason and Andros Townsend progressing into the first-team.
Pritchard was widely believed to be the next in line to make the transition into the Tottenham senior side, especially after an impressive campaign on loan at Brentford in 2014-15.
In a solitary season at Griffin Park, the former Spurs man scored 12 goals from midfield in 47 league appearances, making the Championship Team of the Year in the process.
However, after returning to Tottenham, opportunities were just not forthcoming due to competition for places at White Hart Lane and an unsuccessful loan stint at West Bromwich Albion followed before his sale.
Pritchard has proven himself again at Championship level at Norwich over the last 18 months, with the former England under-21 international seemingly set to get another chance at Premier League football with Huddersfield.
Looking at the current Tottenham squad, attacking midfield positions are eagerly contested with Christian Eriksen and Dele Alli automatic selections when fit and Son Heung-min and Erik Lamela very able options in the final third.
However, the irony of the situation is that Mauricio Pochettino has spoken of the need for a different type of player in this area of the pitch – someone with pace and skill that can beat a man and stretch opponents.
Both Moussa Sissoko and Georges-Kevin Nkoudou were signed to provide this but have failed to do so, meaning consistent transfer links to targets with similar attributes, such as Wilfried Zaha, continue to persist.
Given the amount of opportunities Townsend was given at Tottenham, despite being wildly frustrating and inconsistent, and the fees spent on the afore-mentioned French duo, Pritchard would be justified in a grievance that he was not afforded more of a chance to feature.
Whether he would be in the first-team reckoning currently under Pochettino if he had stayed at Spurs remains to be seen, but one thing is evident.
Tottenham’s youth system consistently produces Premier League calibre footballers and giving young players an opportunity to play senior football can reap massive rewards – just look at Kane.
While Pritchard was never going to be a star at the level of the Spurs striker, having him in the squad ahead of someone like Nkoudou or flop Clinton N’Jie would probably have been justified.