No fewer than nine Danske Bank Premiership players have been named in the Northern Ireland U21 panel for the forthcoming games against Malta and Denmark.
Caretaker boss Andy Crosby has recognised the wealth of young domestic talent at his disposal when selecting his first squad for the Euro 2021 qualifiers, drawing from different five clubs including three from Irish Cup winners Glentoran (Caolan Marron, Chris Gallagher, Paul O'Neill) and two apiece from champions Linfield (Ross Larkin, Kyle McClean) and newly promoted Portadown (Nathan Kerr, Lee Bonis).
Also getting a call up are Ballymena United's eight-time capped Kofi Balmer and, for the first time, Aaron Donnelly from Cliftonville.
The full panel reads:-
Goalkeepers
Conor Hazard (Celtic), Nathan Gartside (Derry City)
Defenders
Eoin Toal (Derry City), Caolan Marron (Glentoran), Kofi Balmer (Ballymena United), Jack Scott (Wolverhampton Wanderers), Daniel Amos (Doncaster Rovers), Ross Larkin (Linfield), Aaron Donnelly (Cliftonville), Nathan Kerr (Portadown)
Midfielders
Alfie McCalmont (Leeds United), Caolan Boyd-Munce (Birmingham City), Chris Gallagher (Glentoran), Ali McCann (St Johnstone), Jake Dunwoody (Derry City), Ethan Galbraith (Manchester United), Kyle McClean (Linfield)
Forwards
David Parkhouse (Derry City), Paul O’Neill (Glentoran), Harry Robinson (Motherwell), Lee Bonis (Portadown), Christopher Conn (Burnley)
Northern Ireland are away to Malta on September 4th before hosting Denmark behind closed doors at the Ballymena Showgrounds on the 8th.
