Huddersfield Town teenager Brodie Spencer has been urged to capitalise on his surprise call-up to the Northern Ireland senior squad.
Spencer, recently crowned Huddersfield Academy player of the year, was named in Ian Baraclough’s 28-man panel after impressing at last week’s training camp in England.
The 18-year-old is one of four new faces in the senior squad alongside Manchester City's Shea Charles, Glentoran winger Conor McMenamin and Rangers midfielder Charlie McCann.
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Baraclough insists there’s no pressure on Spencer but hopes the Shankill teenager views the experience as a chance to develop and impress.
“For Brodie Spencer to go from our U19s into the senior squad, it’s a massive jump, but there’s no pressure on Brodie or the other kids,” he said.
“Let’s see if we can help them in their development and one or two might just come through quicker than expected.
“For the likes of Brodie and Shea Charles - who had a really solid season at Manchester City - it’s recognition for that and we think they can make that jump.
“But there’s no pressure on them. They can stay with the seniors or go back to the age groups with more experience.”
Baraclough believes the addition of several teenagers to his squad is a sign that Northern Ireland’s underage stars have a “pathway” to win senior caps.
“It’s a shop window,” he said. “Every time they train or come together in whatever age group, they know they have a pathway to the senior team.
“The first day of the training camp at St George’s Park, I put all the fixtures we have in June - four Nations League games, two games for the 21s and two friendlies for the 19s.
“I asked ‘which games do you want to be involved in?’ To a man, all of them said they wanted to be involved in the Nations League squad.
“I think one or two of them wouldn’t have expected to be in this squad and for the likes of Brodie and Charles, they might have been looking towards the U21s.
“But they showed enough in that training camp to tell me they’re worthy of coming along and being a part of it. Let’s see how they react now to being a part of a senior squad.”
Spencer, who joined Huddersfield from Cliftonville in 2020, signed his first professional contract in September, but has yet to make a first team appearance for the club.
Northern Ireland are set to play four Nations League fixtures in June starting at home to Greece on Thursday (June 2).
Two away trips to Cyprus and Kosovo on June 5 and 9 are followed by another home game against Cyprus on June 12.
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