Michael O’Neill insists promoting young players is “not new for Northern Ireland” with a host of talented teenagers worthy of their place in his squad – and declared he would “never” give out senior caps just to win an eligibility race.

Ceadach O’Neill’s international future has been the topic of speculation in recent months with the Football Association of Ireland (FAI) making a play for the Arsenal youngster.

If O’Neill, who played in two June friendlies after receiving his maiden Northern Ireland call-up, is to feature in one of four Nations League games across the upcoming window, he would have to wait three years before making an international transfer, while amassing four caps would rule out the possibility entirely under FIFA regulations.

Any player born in Northern Ireland is eligible to represent the Republic of Ireland, but FIFA permits only one official allegiance switch, meaning any call would be irreversible.

placeholder image — Northern Ireland manager Michael O'Neill. (Photo by Arthur Allison/Pacemaker Press)

With the FAI clear they’ll adopt a more aggressive approach towards attracting players who could represent their country, conversations like the current one about O’Neill will likely persist for years to come.

Northern Ireland chief O’Neill is adamant senior caps have to be earned – and insists Gunners teen O’Neill has done just that.

“I wouldn’t just put a player on the pitch because that would be unfair to the player and I’ve never done that,” said O’Neill. "I’ve never just put a player on the pitch from that point of view.

"I’ve always tried to be fair across the board – if players deserve an opportunity to play, which Ceadach did because he trained so well, he got an opportunity to play.

"Kieran (Morrison) deserved an opportunity to play because he had been around Liverpool’s first team, he had shown up well in training both in March and June, and Braiden (Graham) is the same.

"They’re there because this is the next step for them. I believe being part of the senior international squad will help them, it’ll help their club careers.

"In a 28-man squad, they merit their place in that squad over some players who aren’t in it, in my opinion.

"My job is to protect the national team going forward and to build a squad as strong as possible, and to do that you have to look at your young players.

"This is not new for Northern Ireland, Billy Bingham picked Norman Whiteside at 16/17, Billy Bingham picked me at 18, we’ve done this in the past and I understand how this works.

"We’re doing this based on the level of the player and that’s the most important thing.”