Trai Hume has been called up to the Northern Ireland squad that will play Luxembourg and Hungary in friendlies at the end of March.

The 19-year-old, who joined Sunderland from Linfield in January, has made two starts in League One for the Black Cats and will join up with Ian Baraclough's senior squad for the very first time this month.

The precocious right back has a lot of youth international experience under his belt and has played up to U21 for Northern Ireland, it will be interesting to see if he is trusted with a start in either game, despite Stuart Dallas and Craig Cathcart's presence in the squad.

Carl Winchester has been preferred to Hume at right back by Alex Neil and with Niall Huggins on his way back to fitness, there will be a lot of competitions for places at the Stadium of Light beyond the end of the season.

That situation almost increases the importance that Hume makes a good first impression, so that Baraclough will consider him next term, even if first team opportunities are limited on Wearside.

Luxembourg is the first, and will be the easier of the two friendlies, match of the international break for Northern Ireland, and will be Hume's most likely opportunity to earn his first cap due to the relative strength of the opposition.

The Verdict

 

 

Having played so much in the youth ranks for his country, Hume would have hoped that this moment was not too far away after making the move to the North East in January.

However, it may still come as a small surprise after failing to cement his place in the Black Cats' first team picture, even though Alex Neil has shown a hesitance to hand game time to the younger talent within the squad.

In Huggins and Hume, Sunderland have a pair of very exciting up and coming right backs that could prove to be excellent business in a number of years.

Hume will be hoping to use the exposure of the international stage to increase his standing with Alex Neil ahead of an enticing end to the season for the Black Cats.