Young midfielder called up by Northern Ireland
Shrewsbury Town Under-18 midfielder Chris Gallagher has been called up by Northern Ireland Under-19’s as they begin their European Qualifiers.Gallagher is part of an 18-strong squad which will travel to Poland to face Slovakia, Macedonia and the hosts.
The four sides will play each other with the top two teams reaching the Elite Stages of the competition, which will take place in Georgia in 2017.
Northern Ireland take on Slovakia on Thursday 6th of October, before taking on Macedonia two days later and finish their qualifying campaign against Poland on Tuesday 11th.
Central Midfielder Gallagher has impressed in Town’s youth team this season and has regularly trained with Micky Mellon’s first team squad.
The 17 year old is excited to be involved and hoping to impress.
“It’s always great to represent your country at any level and for me it’s good to be involved in a strong squad considering I'm a year young,” said Chris.
“It’s very good for my experience and development as a young player and I think with the group of players we have, we have a great opportunity to progress to the group stage so hopefully we can get the results we need in order to do that.”
Academy Manager, Andy Jones, believes it’s a great opportunity for Gallagher to represent his club and country on an international stage.
"This is a fantastic opportunity for Chris and is a indication of the kind of players in which we are producing within our academy, said Andy.
"It also highlights some of the great work in which our coaches and medical staff do. Chris is a great advocate for the club both on and off the field and has been rewarded with his call-up.
"We wish him all the best."