Charlton Athletic striker Conor Washington believes Northern Ireland have found a key talent in Nottingham Forest teenager Dale Taylor.
Taylor, 17, joined Forest just over a year ago from Linfield and his impressive form for the under-18s and under-23s has earned him his first senior international cap under Ian Baraclough.
Northern Ireland will welcome Lithuania to Windsor Park on Friday, November 12 before concluding their campaign at home to Italy on Monday.
Preparations for the encounter took place this week and the youngster caught the eyes of the seniors in the squad.
"I think he’s got a really bright future and I’ve been really impressed with him to be honest," Washington told BelfastLive.
"He looks very accomplished as a footballer which is not something you often say about a 17-year-old.
"His movement and finishing looks quality but the biggest standout so far is that he looks very sure of himself at this level and around these players.
"That’s a real box ticked. He’s got that in abundance."
In 2019 while at Linfield, he scored a goal on his first-team debut, at the age of 15.
"I had heard rumblings about Dale as you’d expect, similar to Shayne (Lavery) before he came into his first Northern Ireland camp," Washington added.
"Obviously he’s also been close to the men’s game from an early age and that has helped him.
"We haven’t really done too much 11 v 11 yet in training, but from what I’ve seen so far, he’s good off both feet and is technically very good.
"He looks like a clever player and hopefully we get to see some of him in these two games."
The youth prospect signed his first professional contract at Forest in December of last year.
