TONY MOWBRAY will ‘not stand in the way’ of Alex Pritchard, Danny Batth or Lynden Gooch if they decide they have to leave Sunderland this month to secure their long-term footballing futures.

The trio are all now in the final year of their current contract on Wearside, and have not been offered new deals at the Stadium of Light.

Given their respective ages – Gooch is 27, Pritchard 30 and Batth 32 – and Sunderland’s current recruitment model which heavily prioritises the signing and retention of young players with a potential sell-on value, it is extremely unlikely that they will be presented with the opportunity to extend their contract beyond the end of the season.

As a result, they are the subject of increasing transfer speculation with Blackburn Rovers known to be extremely interested in Batth and Norwich City having been linked with a potential move for Pritchard.

As three of the more experienced players at Mowbray’s disposal, their departure would reduce the average age of Sunderland’s squad even further. Nevertheless, as a head coach who always preaches the importance of putting players first, the Black Cats boss is keen to work with the trio to find a solution that suits everyone.

“I think my own view is about the individuals, the players,” said Mowbray, whose side crashed out of the Carabao Cup at the hands of League Two Crewe Alexandra on Tuesday. “If there’s an understanding that the players are going to leave – either want to leave or feel as though they’re not required – then I think my first thought is always about the human being and their families, and what’s right for them.

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“Particularly as you start to tiptoe into your 30s, you need to have contractual situations that are right for the human being. So, I’m supportive of Danny and Alex, and Goochy, who picked up a knock so didn’t play (against Crewe) but who should be alright in a couple of days.

“I think what will be, will be. Let’s see what this next three weeks brings. I, personally, need to be supportive of those players. Obviously, I’m employed by this football club and we will do what we think is right for the football club at the time. That might be allowing players to leave, as long as we replace them.”

If the trio were to leave, there is every chance they would be replaced by younger players who are a better fit for the model sporting director Kristjaan Speakman and head of recruitment Stuart Harvey are trying to implement.

While there are benefits to having a group of young players in terms of their energy and enthusiasm, a lack of experience and Championship nous could count against Sunderland as the season progresses.

Mowbray accepts there is a need to strike a balance, but does not feel that an absence of seasoned professionals is necessarily a barrier to success.

“I think there’s been some evidence in the last few games of the vulnerability of the squad depth,” he said. “You’re talking about experienced players in amongst young players, and yes, I think that’s always important.

“Yet there’s probably examples out there that prove the opposite. I know I played in a very young (Middlesbrough) team in 1986. It was basically the youth team from the season before, but we managed to get promotion from what is now League One and then the following season got promotion out of what is now the Championship.

“There’s examples of young, exciting teams combining and getting the job done, and I think every time we put these young players on the pitch, they’re getting more experience. That’s pretty invaluable to them really. Our job is to get them to believe in running forward, looking forward, passing forward – playing how we want to play. If they can do it, then it doesn’t really matter whether they’re 15, 16 or 36.”

The challenge comes when those young players have to go through tough times, but Mowbray is hoping his current crop of youngsters will be able to cope if they find themselves with their backs to the wall over the course of the next nine months.

“People do say to me, ‘It’s great here when it’s great, but when it’s not great, it can be pretty brutal,’” he said. “I don’t know whether that’s right or wrong, but if it is tough and the results are not going our way then it might be tougher on young players. That will be an experience in their lives as footballers if that’s the case, and we have to face tough times.

“I’m hoping that won’t be the case and we’re going to win plenty of football games. The evidence of the first two games is that we can dominate matches, we just need to be able to put the ball in the back of the net.”