Sunderland teenager Trai Hume admits he was shocked to receive a “dream” call-up to Ian Baraclough’s Northern Ireland squad.
Hume, who turns 20 on Friday, is one of two new additions to the senior panel alongside in-form Fleetwood Town winger Paddy Lane.
The Ballymena native has starred for Northern Ireland U21s in the recent past and joined the Black Cats from Linfield in January.
“To make my international debut would be a dream and I think my family would be more proud of me doing that than anything else,” said Hume.
“To be fair, it wasn’t something I was expecting this soon.
“Obviously, I thought if I came to Sunderland and got a run of games, I’d get it, but I’ve only played a couple for Sunderland so I wasn’t really expecting it.
“I thought I did quite well with the U21s, but I didn’t think it was so close. Ringing my mum and my dad, they were actually more excited than me because I’m quite a chilled person.
“They were over the moon and that’s the most important thing to me.
“I’m realistic enough to set goals for six months or a year to see what I can do and if stuff comes, it comes, but the international call-up is a dream.”
Hume admits he was surprised when Baraclough called him recently to tell him he would be part of his plans for friendlies against Luxembourg (A) and Hungary (H) on March 25 and 29.
“I woke up on the Sunday morning and we were coming into the training ground to train after the game on the Saturday,” he said.
“I saw a number come up on my phone and I was kind of thinking ‘who is that?’ I answered it, Ian said it was him and I was kind of ‘what’s he ringing me for?’
“He obviously gave me the news and I didn’t know what to say. I probably said ‘thank you’ five or six times, so it was good.”
Fleetwood midfielder Lane, who has played six times for the U21s, has earned a call-up after impressing with the League One club this season.
The 21-year-old, who made his club debut in September, has scored five goals for Fleetwood this season, including four in his last nine league games.
Hume and Lane are part of a 25-strong squad which shows five changes from the last panel for November's games against Lithuania and Italy.
Blackpool striker Shayne Lavery returns to the fold after missing games in the October and November international windows through injury.
Fellow striker Dion Charles, who has scored regularly for Bolton Wanderers since making a switch from Accrington Stanley in January, is also back in the squad.
Milwall defender Daniel Ballard, who sat out the Italy and Lithuania games due to injury, Aberdeen winger Matthew Kennedy and Motherwell’s Liam Donnelly also return.
Missing out are Leicester City’s Jonny Evans, who is recovering from hamstring surgery, Newcastle United’s Jamal Lewis, St Mirren winger Jordan Jones and Charlton striker Conor Washington.
Doncaster Rovers wing-back Ethan Galbraith isn’t included although he is expected to be in the U21s panel for a Euro qualifier in Slovakia on March 25.
NORTHERN IRELAND SQUAD
Goalkeepers - Bailey Peacock-Farrell (Sheffield Wednesday, on loan from Burnley), Conor Hazard (HJK Helsinki, on loan from Celtic), Luke Southwood (Reading).
Defenders - Craig Cathcart (Watford), Shane Ferguson (Rotherham United), Daniel Ballard (Millwall, on loan from Arsenal), Tom Flanagan (Shrewsbury Town), Ciaron Brown (Oxford United, on loan from Cardiff City), Conor Bradley (Liverpool), Patrick McNair (Middlesbrough), Trai Hume (Sunderland).
Midfielders - Steven Davis (Rangers), Niall McGinn (Dundee), Corry Evans (Sunderland), Stuart Dallas (Leeds United), George Saville (Millwall), Jordan Thompson (Stoke City), Alistair McCann (Preston North End), Patrick Lane (Fleetwood Town), Matthew Kennedy (Aberdeen), Liam Donnelly (Motherwell).
Forwards - Josh Magennis (Wigan Athletic), Gavin Whyte (Oxford United, on loan from Cardiff City), Dion Charles (Bolton Wanderers), Shayne Lavery (Blackpool).
Read More: Coleraine boss Oran Kearney admits "crazy" red card cost Bannsiders in dramatic final
Read More: David Jeffrey offers Sky Sports viewers hilarious explainer for player's vocabulary
Sign up to our free sports newsletter to get the latest headlines to your inbox.
