Patrick Kelly is determined to keep himself in the frame for Northern Ireland’s World Cup qualifying play-off in March after getting his first taste of senior international football on Monday.

Kelly came off the bench in the 82nd minute to make his debut as Northern Ireland wrapped up their Group A campaign with a 1-0 win over Luxembourg at Windsor Park.

Although they finished third in the group, Michael O’Neill’s side have a play-off to look forward to thanks to their Nations League success, and Kelly is determined to be part of the squad.

“I’m itching for it,” the 21-year-old said. “It’d be the biggest game of my career so hopefully I can kick on now at Barnsley and have a really good run of games to try and get myself in the squad, and fingers crossed we get to the World Cup.”

placeholder image — Northern Ireland's Patrick Kelly (left) on show against Luxembourg in Belfast. (Photo by Liam McBurney/PA Wire)

Kelly got his first senior call-up this month after injuries to fellow midfielders Shea Charles and Ali McCann, having been on standby for the last two camps following an impressive start to life at Oakwell. Kelly has now made 14 appearances for the League One Tykes since joining from West Ham in the summer.

Since getting the call, Kelly has slotted into this youthful Northern Ireland squad, having known players like Callum Marshall, Jamie McDonnell and Ruairi McConville since they were young boys coming up through the international ranks together.

“I’m delighted (to make my debut),” Kelly added. “It’s something I’ve been working towards now for ages and I’ve played with a lot of lads who have done it in the last year, two years, we’ve all come through the under-21s together.

“A lot of of us have been together and been going on trips away from when we were in the under-nines, under-10s. There are so many trips we’ve been on… We all know each other really well and I think that helps on the pitch.”

The Portstewart-born player left Coleraine for West Ham in 2022, and then spent last season on loan at Doncaster, helping Grant McCann’s side earn promotion to League One.

He had the option to return to the Eco-Power Stadium on another loan this term but instead left West Ham permanently to sign a three-year deal with Barnsley after seeking advice from O’Neill in July.

“We had a chat and I asked him for a bit of advice because I had a couple of offers to go permanent,” Kelly said. “I just felt permanent would be better because I feel like when you’re at a club as a permanent player you feel more valued and you maybe play a bit more.

“I just asked him what he thought I should do. He thought getting out of the loan cycle would be good and I didn’t really see a pathway at West Ham.

“I thought it was the right thing to do and it’s worked out for me so far. Hopefully I can keep getting the games under my belt at Barnsley and keep improving.”