Tottenham Hotspur: Alex Pritchard sets sights on Premier League impact after Brentford loan success

Tottenham midfielder Alex Pritchard has set his sights on establishing himself in the Premier League next term rather than embark upon another temporary stint away from White Hart Lane.

The 22-year-old impressed hugely during a season-long loan at Brentford in 2014/15, scoring 12 goals and providing seven assists in 45 appearances as the Championship's surprise package reached the playoffs under Mark Warburton in what was their first campaign back in the second tier for 21 years.

As well as enhancing his development at Griffin Park, Pritchard has also previously spent time in the Football League with both Peterborough United and Swindon Town in a bid to increase his exposure to regular first-team football with a long-term ambition of making the grade at Tottenham.

The player has also built up extensive experience in the U21 top-flight and while there may be those who doubt he will be able to play a consistent role for the first-team as Mauricio Pochettino's side look to crack the top four, he believes he is ready to be given a chance to succeed.

"The Under-21 Premier League is a massive part of you getting to that stage. It's great, playing against some of the best young players at a young age and then you get to the age when you want to go out and play first-team football," he told the Premier League's official website.

"Some players have two years with the Under-21s at their club and go into their first team because they get the chance or they're good enough already. For me, I've played two years with Spurs' Under-21s and then had to go on loan to get my experience that way. Hopefully, now I can go and play in the Premier League.

"I feel like I've done my time in League One, done my time in the Championship and now it's time for me to get a chance at Premier League football."

Pochettino also appears keen to have Pritchard in the senior fold. When responding to a fan during a Q&A session on Facebook in May, he said: "Yes of course, he is in our plans for next season.

"He starts pre-season when he gets back from the Euros and we are looking forward to having him back after a successful loan with Brentford."

Pritchard was selected as part of Gareth Southgate's England squad for the European U21 championship in the Czech Republic earlier this summer.

Having showed glimpses of quality in a brief cameo from the substitutes' bench during the opening group fixture against Portugal, he then started against Sweden before being sadly forced to withdraw from the tournament as a result of an ankle problem sustained 10 minutes into the second half of that 1-0 victory at the Andruv Stadion.

In addition to the aforementioned guarantee from his manager, Pritchard's previously difficult route to Tottenham's first team appears to have been eased considerably by the sale of no less than four midfielders over recent weeks.

Underwhelming Brazilian international Paulinho left North London to sign for Chinese Super League outfit Guangzhou Evergrande in late June, a deal that was quickly followed by the conversion of Lewis Holtby's successful loan spell at Hamburg into a permanent arrangement.

The versatile Etienne Capoue has also departed for newly-promoted Tottenham, while Benjamin Stambouli was oddly rewarded for an extremely lacklustre debut season in English football by joining dominant French champions Paris Saint-Germain on a five-year deal.

Brentford, meanwhile, have sought to limit the impact of Pritchard's return to his parent club by completing a deal to bring in Josh McEachran from Chelsea.