Michael O’Neill says there is no need to “pigeonhole” Everton youngster Braiden Graham as the 18-year-old continues to develop at club and international level.
Graham has retained his place in Northern Ireland’s senior squad for four forthcoming Nations League games after receiving his first call-up for the friendlies against Guinea and France in June.
He is still waiting for his senior international debut, but O’Neill has watched him since he was 14 or 15 and believes he could eventually fill several different attacking roles.
O’Neill sees several options for Graham
Graham made his name as a centre-forward at Linfield, but David Moyes has previously suggested he may be better suited to playing from a wider position at this stage of his development.
O’Neill is similarly reluctant to define him simply as a No.9.
“I think the most important thing is not to try and pigeonhole him into a position.
“He’s adaptable and he’s adaptable because he’s such a good player. I think at this minute in time his best option would be to play a little bit off the side, possibly as a 10, maybe around a bigger striker if you play a front-two, which not many teams do.
“What he has shown us in training is a real high technical level and the ability to stick the ball in the net.”
Moyes made a similar point earlier this month, describing Graham as “probably someone who would play off the sides”.
Graham has been on O’Neill’s radar for years
O’Neill’s knowledge of Graham goes back well beyond his involvement with the senior Northern Ireland squad.
“I’ve watched him a lot, we’ve watched Braiden since he was young, I’ve seen him from like 14 or 15.”
The Northern Ireland manager also spoke about the physical demands facing a young forward trying to establish himself at Premier League level.
“Every player develops physically differently. It’s very difficult to play in the Premier League as a striker, look at the profile of what clubs want as their striker.
“But Braiden’s a very talented player, he’s a very technical player, a great finisher. He has a really good left foot, he’s smart in terms of how he plays.”
Graham has been involved regularly with Moyes’ first-team group this season, while we recently looked at the options facing Everton over the next stage of his development.
He now has another opportunity with Northern Ireland, who begin their Nations League campaign away to Georgia on September 25 before facing Hungary, Ukraine and Georgia again.
There is clearly no rush to decide whether Graham’s long-term future is as a centre-forward, No.10 or coming in from the flank.
At 18, O’Neill is happy to leave those options open.
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