After completing his move from Torquay United to Mansfield Town, Jamie Reid will no doubt be looking to impress Stags' boss Graham Coughlan, and he will also be hoping to capture the attentions of new Northern Ireland boss Ian Baraclough.
Earlier in his career, Reid, 25, was capped by the province in 2013 against their Cypriot counterparts and his recent move to Field Mill also offers the potential for a possible call-up for the senior side - should he continue his impressive form of the past two years with United in his new surroundings.
The striking roster of the most recent Northern Ireland squads assembled, of course, by Baraclough's successor Michael O'Neill for their EURO 2020 play-off semi-final with Bosnia Herzegovina, which was postponed due to the Covid-19 pandemic, read: Kyle Lafferty (Sunderland), Josh Magennis (Hull City), Conor Washington and Liam Boyce (Heart of Midlothian). Other strikers who have received call-ups recently have included Shayne Lavery (Linfield) and Paul Smyth (Wycombe Wanderers).
As the smallest country in the British Isles, Northern Ireland have traditionally always had a smaller pool of players to choose from compared to England, Scotland or even Wales. This reflected by the fact many of the above list ply their trade in the Championship, League One and the Scottish Premier League.
Also, at 25, Reid is younger than the quartet who O'Neill named to face Bosnia; Lafferty is 32, Magennis is 30, Washington is 28 and Liam Boyce is 29.
This would suggest that if Reid could find the back of the net for the Stags on a regular basis then a call-up for Baraclough's squad will not be beyond the realms of possibility, especially in the event of a spate of injuries, and a lengthy international career might be on the cards.
He wouldn't be the first player to receive international recognition after a spell working with Gary Johnson, whose arrival as Gulls' manager played a major factor in the upturn of his Plainmoor fortunes. Paddy Madden, currently with Fleetwood Town, was capped by the Republic of Ireland in 2013 after helping Yeovil Town win promotion to the Championship in the 2012-13 season.
