ExpandIsaac Price is one of Northern Ireland’s young talents
Isaac Price is one of Northern Ireland’s young talents (Liam McBurney/PA)
IT’S exactly two years since Isaac Price left Everton to sign for Belgian big guns Standard Liege – but he still has a desire to outdo a former Merseyside rival.
One Liverpool player in particular, that is – his Northern Ireland international colleague Conor Bradley. The Tyrone lad became the first player from NI to win an English Premier League medal since Jonny Evans collected his third with Manchester United in 2013.
Price looked on with a mixture of respect and envy as Bradley triumphed with the Anfield Reds, and then saw another international team-mate, Justin Devenny, help Crystal Palace win the FA Cup.
Bradley’s season has been disrupted by injury
Bradley’s season has been disrupted by injury (Adam Davy/PA)
“I think you can see [a lift] in both players,” said Price. “You look at Conor, he’s a fantastic player. The sky’s the limit for him really. I’ve played with him since I was 15, 16 and he’s been the same the whole way through.
“For a player like me, looking at him, it’s something that I aspire to do. I want to go and achieve the things that he’s achieved so much already. I know I want to go and achieve more.
“The same with Justin. He’s had a very successful season. He’s got a lot of minutes for Palace. I think that’s the hardest thing to do as a young player is to break into a first team, especially at a Premier League club. I think they’ve both done that very well.”
Justin Devenny (centre) scored his first Crystal Palace goal
Justin Devenny (centre) scored his first Crystal Palace goal (Danny Lawson/PA)
All three started in Saturday night’s eventual 2-1 friendly loss away to Denmark but Price feels too little football perhaps cost the visitors in Copenhagen as well as too much for some players, but he was still pleased with the overall performance:
“We had a few players, including myself, that hadn’t played a game since the start of May, which is always difficult. But I think we’ve got a squad that we all kept ourselves fit in the time that we were off. I don’t think really that we looked that tired in the game.
“I felt like, personally, I felt good. It looked like the rest of the lads looked good as well. We covered a lot of distance.
“We minimised their chances. I think we were compact as a team, which obviously frustrated them a little bit. But I think sometimes it can be hard at this time of year when you finish the season so early to then come in and play two games where you’ve not played for so long.
“Then you’ve also got the opposite of players who maybe finished only a week or two ago, which they’re coming in maybe a little bit tired from the season that they’ve had.”
West Bromwich Albion’s Isaac Price during the Sky Bet Championship match at The Hawthorns, West Bromwich. Picture date: Wednesday February 12, 2025.
West Bromwich Albion’s Isaac Price during the Sky Bet Championship match at The Hawthorns, West Bromwich. Picture date: Wednesday February 12, 2025.
Now with West Bromwich Albion in the English Championship, he insists he’s ready to finish the season in style at home to Iceland:
“With this game there’ll be a different expectation, maybe one to take the initiative in this one. We feel we could have a little bit more of the ball, create a few more chances. We feel like we can go and score some goals and hopefully get a good result.”