Euro 2024 qualifiers: West Ham's Callum Marshall among three new Northern Ireland call-ups
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Callum Marshall scored in West Ham's Youth Cup final win over Arsenal
Teenage West Ham United striker Callum Marshall, Larne forward Lee Bonis and Nottingham Forest defender Aaron Donnelly have been handed their first senior Northern Ireland call-ups.
The trio were selected for the upcoming Euro 2024 qualifier double-header against Denmark and Kazakhstan.
Defender Jonny Evans, relegated with Leicester City last season, returns and will likely be captain.
It was originally a 28-strong squad but Eoin Toal has pulled out with injury.
The Bolton Wanderers defender withdrew on Thursday with an ankle problem.
NI face Denmark in Copenhagen next Friday night in their third qualifier.
Michael O'Neill's side, who opened the campaign with a 2-0 victory away to San Marino in March before losing 1-0 to Finland in Belfast, then host Kazakhstan at Windsor Park on 19 June.
Strikers Josh Magennis and Conor Washington are out injured after being involved in March, while captain Steven Davis and Stuart Dallas remain unavailable with long-term injuries.
Sunderland defender Daniel Ballard and Rotherham United left back Shane Ferguson also miss out through injury.
Midfielder Ethan Galbraith, without club after leaving Manchester United following a loan spell at Salford City, has been recalled by O'Neill, as has Portsmouth winger Paddy Lane.
Preston North End midfielder Ali McCann and Blackpool forward Shayne Lavery return after missing the international games in March through injury.
Youngsters performed well in training camps
With Magennis and Washington missing through injury, O'Neill opted to include inexperienced duo Marshall and Bonis after both caught the eye in recent training camps.
O'Neill has held camps over the past three weeks - one for the under-21s panel and two for the senior squad - to maintain the players' fitness after the end of the 2022-23 campaign.
Marshall, 18, signed his first professional contract with West Ham in November, having impressed after joining the London club from Irish Premiership side Linfield, and scored in the Hammers' Youth Cup final win over Arsenal in April.
Meanwhile, Bonis, 23, moved into full-time football when he joined Larne from Portadown in January 2022 and he has attracted interest from a number of English clubs after spearheading the Invermen's attack as they won the Irish Premiership for the first time last season.
"We have obviously got injury problems throughout the squad and particularly with Josh and Conor both missing," said O'Neill.
"The likes of young Callum has been in the Under 21 camp, he has been with the senior squad [training camp] and he is now with the senior squad again so it was to reward players as well for being there when it is not an easy time to be there.
"We have picked a slightly bigger squad, a couple extra, because there are one or two little injury concerns that we have coming into Sunday."
He continued, "The thing with Callum was he showed up brilliantly in the camps while Lee is player that there is a lot of interest in.
"There is a lot of discussion about where he is going to be playing his football next season. I have seen him two or three times in the Irish League and it was a chance to get him in and obviously get a closer look at him.
"I think, as well, it is a little bit unfair to ask players to come into training camps and then cut them loose before we go into the actual competitive games."
Bonis was instrumental in Larne's maiden Irish Premiership title success
Manchester City midfielder Shea Charles, who made his Premier League debut from the bench on the final day of the season, retains his place and will link up with the squad after City's Champions League final against Inter Milan on Saturday night.
Evans, who is currently out of contract, was originally named in the squad for the March double-header but was forced to withdraw through injury.
Nineteen-year-old Forest defender Donnelly spent the first half of the 2022-23 campaign with Forest's under-21s before moving to Port Vale on loan in January, making 20 appearances in helping the side avoid relegation from League One.
All three new faces are part of the squad that has been taking part in a Northern training camp this week, which was held to maintain players' fitness levels after the end of the season.
Northern Ireland, bidding to qualify for their first major finals since Euro 2016, are fifth in Group H, three points behind leaders Slovenia.
Northern Ireland squad
Goalkeepers: Bailey Peacock-Farrell (Burnley), Conor Hazard (Celtic), Luke Southwood (Reading)
Defenders: Jonny Evans (Leicester City), Craig Cathcart (Watford), Jamal Lewis (Newcastle United), Ciaron Brown (Oxford United), Conor Bradley (Liverpool), Trai Hume (Sunderland), Aaron Donnelly (Nottingham Forest).
Midfielders: Paddy McNair (Middlesbrough), George Saville (Millwall), Jordan Thompson (Stoke City), Ali McCann (Preston North End), Shea Charles (Manchester City), Paddy Lane (Portsmouth), Ethan Galbraith (unattached), Isaac Price (Everton), Sean Goss (Motherwell).
Forwards: Gavin Whyte (unattached), Shayne Lavery (Blackpool), Dion Charles (Bolton Wanderers), Conor McMenamin (Glentoran), Matty Kennedy (Aberdeen), Dale Taylor (Nottingham Forest), Callum Marshall (West Ham), Lee Bonis (Larne).