Southampton have had five first-team players away on international duty this fortnight as Russell Martin works with a reduced squad.
It would have been more but Tyler Dibling withdrew from England under-19 duty, whilst Will Smallbone has been sidelined through injury since the last break.
Southampton sent talented young midfielder Shea Charles out on loan this summer as Russell Martin could not guarantee game time with Flynn Downes and Lesley Ugochukwu in his position.
Charles is enjoying a really fruitful loan spell at Sheffield Wednesday and has continued to be called up for Northern Ireland, for whom he has an impressive 18 caps despite being just 20.
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Southampton loanee Shea Charles stars in Northern Ireland win
Charles was in action on Tuesday night as Northern Ireland faced Bulgaria in a crucial UEFA Nations League game in Belfast.
Michael O’Neil’s side put in a remarkable display as they thrashed Bulgaria 5-0 to go top of their group, with Isaac Price scoring a hat-trick; the third of which was assisted by Charles.
The Belfast Telegraph were full of praise for Charles’ display, rating his performance a nine out of ten and commenting: “Some silky skills and attacked with purpose. Didn’t get on the scoresheet but was majestic in the middle. Glided past players with ease. Titanic performance.”
Belfast Live were also impressed, scoring Charles an eight and adding: “Superb display as he drove forward from midfield all night.”
Charles has bright Southampton future
Charles is one of the first names on the team sheet for Northern Ireland and he has quickly become that under former Southampton coach Danny Rohl at Sheffield Wednesday too.
The youngster struggled to earn Martin‘s trust in his debut senior season last year but the fact Southampton spent an initial £10.5 million to secure his arrival from Manchester City shows how highly he is rated at St Mary’s.
A Championship loan in which Charles is a key player will be invaluable to the 20-year-old and he can then return to Southampton next summer ready to stake his claim for a bigger role.