Tranmere Rovers recently announced the signing of Ben Pringle, who links up with Micky Mellon’s side at Prenton Park from Preston North End on loan until the end of the season.
Get to know our new signing with ten quick-fire facts about TRFC’s latest recruit.
1. Born in Newcastle on 25 July 1989, Pringle played for the famed Wallsend Boys Club in his youth career, the same team where Michael Carrick and Alan Shearer both learned their game.
2. After time in the West Bromwich Albion youth system, he dropped down to non-league with Newcastle Blue Star, Morpeth Town and the now defunct Ilkeston Town, where he made 54 appearances in all competitions in Derbyshire.
3. Pringle’s form at non-league level attracted the interest of Derby County, who he signed for in May 2009. His debut came as an 80th minute substitute against Peterborough United in August 2009 – before going on to make 20 league appearances in two years at the Rams, sandwiched in-between a loan spell at Torquay United.
4. Signing for Rotherham United in June 2011, Pringle enjoyed great success during a four-year stay in South Yorkshire – winning promotion twice with the Millers as they went from League Two to the Championship back-to-back in 2012/13 and 2013/14.The midfielder voted in the team of the year for the third-tier in 2013/14 following the club’s Wembley Play-Off Final win where they beat Leyton Orient on penalties after a 2-2 draw.
5. After 147 league appearances and 19 goals in a Rotherham shirt, Pringle joined Fulham in the summer of 2015, joining goalkeeper Andy Lonergan in signing on the same day when he agreed a two-year deal at Craven Cottage.
6. Pringle scored his first goal for the West London side in a 3-1 win away at his old employers Rotherham in August 2015, before adding his second strike in a 4-0 victory against Queens Park Rangers the following month.
7. Ipswich brought Pringle to Suffolk on a loan deal in February 2016, with the 29-year-old becoming a regular for the Tractor Boys under Mick McCarthy, making 10 appearances towards the end of the campaign, scoring twice in successive games against Huddersfield Town and Nottingham Forest.
8. Preston secured Pringle’s services in July 2016, and the midfielder made 14 appearances in all competitions in his first season at Deepdale.
9. Signing for Oldham Athletic on loan in January 2018, Pringle went on to feature 15 times in his temporary five-month stay at Boundary Park, scoring the once in a 2-2 Greater Manchester derby draw away at Bury, as he became a regular at the Latics.
10. Pringle’s next port of call, and his most recent loan, was at Grimsby Town, and he made 18 appearances for the Mariners and played in their win against Tranmere in November 2018.