RESOLVING THE LEDGER
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"Shea has been so, so impressive during my time working with him. I have never seen anyone better on the ball than this kid."
It was in 2021 that the Northern Ireland youth coach Gerard Lyttle said he had never seen a youngster as comfortable on the ball as Shea Charles.
Back then, the teenager was still playing at centre-back and had yet to make a senior appearance for club or country, but he was standing out to his coaches.
Five years later, midfielder Charles has become the most expensive Northern Ireland player in history after he completed a £30m transfer from Southampton to Premier League side Fulham.
From when he joined Manchester City's academy as a seven-year-old, Charles' potential was clear and he quickly progressed through the ranks.
His breakout year came in the 2021-22 season, when he helped City win the Premier League 2 title as an 18-year-old playing alongside the likes of Cole Palmer, Morgan Rogers and Nico O'Reilly.
He was handed a first Northern Ireland call-up for June's Nations League window in 2022, and he made his international debut as a late substitute against Greece before he had even made a senior appearance at club level.
It helped that Charles was learning from some of the best in the world. At Manchester City he had been training with the likes of Rodri and Fernandinho and was finally handed a Premier League chance in May 2023, by which stage he had six international caps under his belt.
While learning from the best players in the world was beneficial, it did not offer a natural path of progression to the first team at Etihad Stadium.
So, a month after making his City debut, Charles signed a four-year contract with Southampton and subsequently made 32 appearances as Saints won promotion back to the Premier League.
Instead of contributing in his club's top-flight return, his development continued with a loan spell at Sheffield Wednesday , where he became a fan favourite and drew links to Arsenal .
With Southampton back in the Championship after their relegation, Charles returned to St Mary's last season.
He contributed some big moments and chipped in with his biggest return in front of goal with six strikes in the campaign. While Southampton missed out on the Premier League, O'Neill was adamant that Charles has what it takes to play in the top flight. It was a matter of when, not if.
"Shea can play in the Premier League, there's no doubt about that," said Charles' international boss before June's friendlies with Guinea and France.
With 35 international caps under his belt and a host of clutch moments to his name at the age of 22, Charles could be one of the surprises of the season as he aims to have a breakout Premier League campaign at Craven Cottage.
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