The 2 huge Liverpool and Sunderland obstacles standing in the way of Pompey favourite

Terry Devlin has been one of the unsung heroes of Pompey's season so far, but will his sterling efforts be recognised by those outside the club?

It was his headed clearance on Saturday that put Mark O'Mahony on his way through to slot past the Oxford United goalkeeper and make it 2-0, securing a Kassam Stadium win. It was yet further proof that the former former Irish League youngster has been a reliable player to call upon when needed this term.

For the vast majority of the campaign, Devlin has been deployed as a right-back when either Jordan Williams or Zak Swanson has been out. And other than the time when the Ulsterman was out from the end of August to the middle of October with injury, Devlin has been on hand to answer John Mousinho’s call in that position, irrespective of his rivals’ availability.

His next appearance, whether it be a start against QPR or a cameo off the bench, will mark 50 appearances for the Blues. That’s not bad for a player, who, 20 months ago as a teenager, was playing for part-timers Glentoran as a central midfielder.

Given that the Pompey favourite is now performing well at Championship level as a right-back, it begs the question: is he ready to make the next natural step-up in his career? The 21-year-old is yet to make his senior debut for the Northern Ireland national team having been a recent regular for the under-21s. A call-up wouldn’t come as a surprise to those who work with him on a day-to-day basis at Fratton Park. The only thing is - two clear obstacles stand in his way.

Displacing Liverpool’s Conor Bradley

At the moment, the Northern Ireland right-back position or wing-back role is Conor Bradley's to lose. The impressive Liverpool youngster has been picking up regular game for the Arne Slot’s Premier League leaders, making 21 appearances across all competitions.

The Reds boss has trusted him to start in three Champions League matches, while there have been 11 appearances altogether in the Premier League. Liverpool have a Carabao Cup final against Newcastle United coming up just before the international break and it's likely he will start given he has played in four of the five matches he was available for on the road to Wembley.

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On the international stage, Bradley has already made 17 appearances for his country. In the round of Nations League fixtures in October, he was entrusted with the captain’s armband, which shows how highly Northern Ireland boss Michael O'Neill thinks of him.

Friendly matches against Switzerland and Sweden are next on the agenda in March. It's an ideal opportunity for O'Neill to experiment and potentially welcome Devlin into the fold. The Ulstermen will no doubt call-up Bradley, but with Liverpool still in the hunt for three different trophies this season and games coming thick and fast for the Reds, there’s always the chance the darling of Anfield might be given a break from the action. That could potentially play into Devlin’s hands!

Sunderland’s Trai Hume is also an option

Trai Hume is also someone Devlin is in competition with for the NI right-back berth. Although, in recent games, the Stadium of Light favourite has been played as a centre-back in a back three.

Hume is slightly older than Bradley at 22 and will turn 23 before the next round of international fixtures. The Sunderland ace has so far made 13 appearances for his country, with his debut coming just under five years ago. Similar to Bradley, he has also been given the captain's armband for matches, ensuring he’s a trusted ally of the international manager.

At club level, Hume is part of a Black Cats team that is challenging for promotion to the Premier League. He's missed just one league game this season, playing 32 matches in total.

His stats are good, too, as he has notched up five assists. Compare that to Devlin, whose assist for O’Mahony was his first registered goal contribution in the league this term.

As mentioned, Hume has been playing as a right sided centre-back so that is an option - but it still means there are two hurdles to overcome for Devlin.

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