Michael O’Neill ‘trust’ has helped me add goals to my game – Isaac Price

Price, 21, became the youngest player to reach nine goals for Northern Ireland as his winner in the 1-0 friendly victory saw him move level with George Best, Billy Bingham, Norman Whiteside and Gareth McAuley in the nation’s scoring charts.

Price has been a midfielder throughout his still young career but, in the position O’Neill tends to use him on the left of a front three, has emerged as Northern Ireland’s main attacking threat.

“I think Michael said that from day one since coming here, he’s seen me as a player that’s a goal threat,” Price said.

“I’ve probably not had a manager that’s told me that before. I feel like I’ve always been a number eight or a little bit deeper, trying to get on the ball more.

“But when I come here, he’s seen something in me that I probably didn’t see in myself. He’s trusted me a lot and every time I play, I feel like I’m going to get a chance to score.”

Price was first called into the Northern Ireland squad in March 2023 while still in Everton’s academy and has continued to flourish after moving to Standard Liege the following June before signing for West Brom in January this year.

O’Neill has marvelled at how quickly Price has been able to adapt to international football.

Asked why he thought that was, the manager said: “Intelligence and athleticism – they are the two biggest things. There is a technical level there, but he’s an intelligent boy. He understands the game and if you give him an instruction he is able to do it.

“He is a very easy player to coach and I think that’s the biggest attribute he has. If you are looking at the profile of a modern day footballer, we’d maybe like to see him a few kilograms heavier, but given his size and his ability to run, he has all the attributes you want in a young player.”

Price was a defensive hero too on Tuesday night, clearing Andri Gudjohnsen’s header off the line as Northern Ireland were forced to defend deep in the final half-an-hour after Brodie Spencer’s disputed red card.

But being in the right place at the right time is also a key part of Price’s game, who is valued by his coaches and team-mates as much for his work off the ball as that on it.

“We see his quality on the ball, but it maybe goes under the radar, his work off the ball,” said Justin Devenny, who played behind Price at left wing-back on Tuesday. “He doesn’t stop running for 90 minutes. That’s massive for this team when we need to dig in.”

Tuesday’s win was Northern Ireland’s final game before the World Cup qualifying campaign starts in Luxembourg in September. Northern Ireland also face Germany and Slovakia in the group, and Price said they would go in full of confidence.

“I think we are young, but we’ve got a lot of caps between us as well,” he said. “We don’t really fear anything. We’ll look forward to going into those games.”