'He was just that good': Former NI manager reflects on working with 'class' Shea Charles - plus top transfers in NI history
Former Northern Ireland U19 manager Gerard Lyttle believes Shea Charles’ record-breaking transfer to Fulham can provide a source of inspiration for the next generation of stars – and declared “I hadn’t seen a player that was so good on the ball” while working with the Cottagers’ newest recruit.
Charles completed his £30million transfer to the Premier League club on Tuesday, signing a five-year contract, to smash the previous record for Northern Ireland’s most expensive player – it was previously held by Jamal Lewis (£15million).
It has been a big summer for Northern Ireland’s top talent with Ethan Galbraith swapping Swansea City for Stoke City in a deal worth more than £10million, while Shea’s younger brother Pierce returned to Manchester City in a move which could reach £10million if clauses are met.
England-born Charles has progressed through Northern Ireland’s underage system since U16 level and was called into the U19 squad by Lyttle for the first time in September 2021 – only nine months before he made his senior debut.
Current Cliftonville assistant Lyttle has watched on with pride at the progression of his star-studded Northern Ireland panel and believes Charles’ move could be the catalyst for more.
"It’s great for the young players coming through the Northern Ireland system to see someone like Shea, who has been in our system from no age and is now a senior international, and is now the first £30million player,” said Lyttle. “That gives hope to all the young lads breaking through that if you work hard, this is what can happen.
"It bodes well. I don’t know this, but I assume (having players like Shea) was one of the big reasons for Michael (O’Neill) staying on as senior manager.
"You’ve Shea, Conor Bradley, they’re both 2003 birthdays, Isaac Price, Ruairi McConville went for over £1million to Norwich who is a couple of years younger, Brodie Spencer, Ethan Galbraith.
"There’s a sense of pride that you played a small part in their development. Great credit has to go to Northern Ireland for their development and providing their young players with a platform to play against better nations.
"The programme that was put in place for that age group was fantastic, they were exposed to a lot of quality games against quality opposition, and a large percentage of those boys have played at senior level and are doing really well at clubs.
"One of the big things Michael spoke about was it’s all good having these boys at youth level, they need to have a good career to give Northern Ireland the chance to qualify for major tournaments.
"It’s brilliant for the nation and everyone involved.”
Charles first played for Lyttle’s Northern Ireland U19s during a pair of 1-0 friendly wins over Faroe Islands in Lurgan and Belfast before featuring in their European Championship qualifying campaign the following month.
From early on, Lyttle identified Charles’ immense talent with the teenager benefitting from an ideal football education at Premier League giants Manchester City.
Lyttle knew he wouldn’t have Charles’ services for long with the midfielder ultimately destined for bigger things – and he has been proven correct with the 22-year-old already earning 35 senior international caps alongside donning the captain’s armband.
"I remember talking to him on the pitch when we had the European Championship qualifiers out in the Czech Republic and you could tell how grounded he was by how shocked he was at what I said to him,” added Lyttle. “I remember saying ‘I think you’ll bypass the U21s’.
"He looked at me like ‘yeah right, you’re kidding me’, and I said ‘no, I’m serious, I think you can go and play for Ian (Baraclough) at senior level if you have a good campaign here’.
"He had showed everything Northern Ireland were missing at that time in terms of composure, ability and playing at a high level.
"It was within months that he made that step up to Ian’s squad and the rest is history.
"I hadn’t seen a player that was so good and calm on the ball at his age. He was just that good.
"He oozes class and his mannerisms and everything about him, nothing ever seemed to faze the lad, he was so easy going.
"That’s how he played on the pitch. He sees things, he’s calm in possession, he takes the ball in tight areas, moves it so well, breaks lines, he’s just so intelligent and that was the massive thing that stood out for me.”
Northern Ireland’s most expensive transfers (courtesy of Marshall Gillespie):
Shea Charles – £30million (Southampton to Fulham), Jamal Lewis – £15million (Norwich City to Newcastle United), Shea Charles – £10.5million (Manchester City to Southampton), Ethan Galbraith – £10million (Swansea City to Stoke City), Jonny Evans – £8million (Manchester United to West Bromwich Albion), George Saville – £8million (Millwall to Middlesbrough).