Michael O'Neill has hailed Trai Hume's versatility as the Northern Ireland boss looks to best utilise the young defender.
It has been a season to remember for the former Linfield man, who has signed a new deal with Sunderland after becoming a mainstay of the team after breaking into the starting XI in the new year.
While Hume has played a lot of his football at right back O'Neill knows he is equally at home in a central defensive position, which is good news as he looks to integrate Conor Bradley and him in the squad.
Read next: Billy Bingham is up there with the likes of Guardiola says Martin O'Neill
“The great thing about Trai is that I’ve seen him in a number of positions for Sunderland," said O'Neill.
“Trai is very flexible; he can play on the left if you need him to play there, he can play on the right.
“He predominantly plays right-back for Sunderland, but I’ve also seen him play towards the end of the season as a centre-back, which was a big ask because he wasn’t playing with a dominant centre-back wither, he was the most dominant one with Luke O’Nien as both Danny Batth and Daniel [Ballard] were both injured.
“I think Conor has maybe more in his locker than just us seeing him as a right-back.
“The decision for me in the previous two games was that we played with a back three and I had seen Conor play consistently as a right wing-back for Bolton.
“Trai had played as a right-back or a left-sided centre-back in a three, but I see two very young players who I’d be very surprised if they don’t amass a lot of caps for Northern Ireland."
READ NEXT:
- Michael O'Neill compares new boy Lee Bonis to former Irish League star
Premier League giants confirmed for special SuperCupNI Elite section
Billy Bingham is up there with the likes of Guardiola says Martin O'Neill
Ex-Coleraine star ready to 'level up' after signing new Kilmarnock deal
Sign up to our f ree sports newsletter to get the latest headlines to your inbox
