What can Northern Ireland supporters expect from new call-up Isaac Price? Everton fan groups give us the lowdown

The 19-year-old was a surprise inclusion in Michael O’Neill’s 26-man squad – the first of his second tenure as national team boss – and has been drafted in alongside the likes of Cameron McGeehan and Sean Goss to help deal with a midfield injury crisis.

Price has represented Northern Ireland at underage level and earned his call-up after impressing O’Neill with performances for the youth sides at Everton.

Not sure what to expect from the talented teenager or don’t know much about him? We asked Toffees’ fan groups to give us the lowdown on our potential newest international star.

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Isaac has been an ever improving player throughout his youth career in Everton’s academy teams. More recently he has taken a prominent role within the U21’s side acting as their focal point to chance creation and has also found himself a regular squad player for the first team, having made his first team debut under Frank Lampard in the 2021/22 season.

The 19-year-old is a versatile central midfielder that likes to play in a number 10 role too and has developed many promising assets to his game in recent years.

His vision on the ball and ability to find a pass were just a couple of the key attributes that allowed him to be taken to by Lampard. He’s very mature in possession of the ball and is uncomplicated and confident when it comes to linking the team together from an attacking perspective.

To look at, Price is tall and has quite a slight physique and is yet to fully test that with the physicality of regular first team football. However, other aspects of his game have so far allowed him to stay in the thoughts and planning of two different managers at Everton.

Although Isaac is probably not yet ready to fully challenge for a permanent place in a Premier league team, a season on loan at a Championship club or similar standard could allow him that opportunity.

He does lack regular football at that level and therefore experience. However, he could certainly mix it and progress a lot quicker having had more game time on loan at another club – something he hasn’t yet done.

This is just part of the process of all players coming through Premier League academies and something that is vital to progression.

The key attributes that stand out with Isaac is that he is nimble with the ball at his feet and can glide through multiple tackles in a bid to find space to play a pass or find an opening to shoot.

He is technical in the final third of the pitch and reads attacking situations and opportunities well. He often finds himself in space in attacking areas of the pitch, which is also a great asset to have for any young attacking midfielder.

An area were Price will be looking to improve though is his ability to be as effective in other areas of the pitch. Improving on this aspect of his game will make him more appealing to managers of first teams from a loan perspective and at Everton.

Generally, when Isaac dropped in to a standard central midfield position in his limited appearances for the first team he found it a little harder to get on the ball or to find time to play the pass he’d like. But, something like this can and will improve with experience at a higher level of football than U21’s can offer.

Overall, Isaac can offer a lot and is certainly a promising proposition for Everton and Northern Ireland alike going forward.

We’re confident he can progress into an exciting central/attacking midfielder in the years to come, having seen some promising signs in his young career so far.

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He made his first-team debut as a substitute in the dead rubber against Arsenal at the Emirates on the final day of the 2021/22 season and showed some neat touches and a pleasing desire to get forward but he was more impressive on the tour to Australia that Everton undertook during the break for the World Cup.

The team travelled in fairly despondent mood having lost back-to-back games to Bournemouth in the Carabao Cup and Premier League but Isaac was hugely promising in the games against Celtic and Western Sydney Wanderers, largely stealing the show, even ahead of Anthony Gordon who scored a hat-trick in the second game.

Price showed he is comfortable on the ball, able to keep possession, make quick, incisive passes to feet and drive forward. He has a rangy physique but is deceptively pacey for his tall frame.

Ultimately, the desperation of Everton’s plight in the latter days of Frank Lampard’s tenure meant that he couldn’t risk turning to someone so young and Sean Dyche probably has the same attitude, but Isaac is very much a player we’ll be keeping our eye on in the next couple of years.