Sheffield Wednesday goalkeeper Pierce Charles has enjoyed a rise through the ranks at Hillsborough in recent seasons and now he’s an international footballer too.
Charles was once again summonsed for duty with Northern Ireland as domestic football took a back seat to allow the National League to recommence.
The 19-year-old might not have expected to get the nod to start but he did as the Green and White army were held to a 0-0 draw by Belarus.
Charles has been on the bench for all nine of the Championship games played by Wednesday this season as the understudy to James Beadle.
He’s also played 90 minutes in Carabao Cup games against Hull, Grimsby and Blackpool with a fourth-round clash against Brentford looming large.
Wednesday made a decision not to loan out Charles in the summer – and some didn’t agree with that – but the player hasn’t dwelled on it and has now taken his international bow.
National media deliver verdicts on Pierce Charles performance for Northern Ireland
It was a day to remember for Charles and the Wednesday youngster will head back to South Yorkshire next week with his head held high after a clean sheet.
Belarus didn’t really test him a lot but nobody can take it away from him that he’s not kept a clean sheet on the international stage at senior level.
The Belfast Telegraph gave him a 7/10 and said: “A debut for the 19-year-old Sheffield Wednesday goalkeeper, and a bold decision by NI boss Michael O’Neill. Very little to do especially in the first half and handled the ball well.”
Belfast Live were also impressed, agreeing on the 7/10 and they wrote: “Didn’t have much to do on his debut but played with confidence.”
Charles will be Wednesday number one at some point
As a former Manchester City academy graduate, Charles is a good pick-up by Wednesday and his vast potential is there for all to see.
The youngster might have – in a weird way – wanted a little bit more to do against Belarus so that he could really showcase what he’s capable of between the posts.
At 19, there is bags of time for a Wednesday chance to come and with Beadle the number one goalkeeper his Championship opportunities will be restricted.
However, it’s great that Danny Rohl has seemingly made him the cup competition goalkeeper and that too will give him lots of confidence to aid his development.
Charles could be a future number one at Hillsborough and it’s already going to be fascinating to witness what he might achieve during his career.