Huddersfield Town defender Brodie Spencer urged to capitalise on surprise NI call-up

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.

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