Shea Charles made his second start of the international break as Northern Ireland were beaten by Bulgaria.
The midfielder has had an action-packed few weeks after joining Sheffield Wednesday last month.
Charles made his debut in the 3-0 defeat to Millwall, before joining Northern Ireland on international duty.
The youngster enjoyed a standout performance in their win over Luxembourg last week, but didn’t make quite as much of an impact in the 2-0 defeat to Bulgaria yesterday.
Charles criticised for Northern Ireland performance
Charles was then criticised by former Northern Ireland and Sheffield Wednesday midfielder Jim Magilton.
He told BBC Radio Ulster: “They have to play better collectively, there were too many players tonight that were below the standard that they set.
“Shea Charles gave the ball away far too cheaply, he didn’t look forward enough and a player of his ability, it was a night for him to stamp his character, personality and quality on the game.”
Charles was given a 6/10 rating by Northern Irish media, having picked up a yellow card, as well as racking up 69 touches, 66% passing accuracy and one tackle.
The 20-year-old displayed some inconsistency over the international break, though Charles certainly wasn’t the only player who underperformed yesterday.
The midfielder still has plenty to learn at Sheffield Wednesday
It doesn’t seem like anything to be concerned about for Wednesday supporters though, given how young Charles actually is.
The Northern Ireland international only made his professional debut in February 2023 and has made 15 starts in the Championship in his career so far.
Charles has bags of potential and has been so highly-rated since he was at Man City, but he still has so much developing and learning to do.
The midfielder has been tipped to be a big signing for the Owls and they will surely see the best of him once he has settled in, but the club also can’t completely rely on him to drive them back to winning ways single-handedly.