O’Neill commends Liverpool star Bradley for his adaptability

The defender has proved to be a worthy understudy to Trent Alexander-Arnold at the Reds, following an exceptional debut season last year.

“Conor can play anywhere on the right hand side of the pitch,” said the Northern Ireland manager to reporters. 

“I think he has the athleticism and he has that quality as well. He always looks like he’s capable of getting in behind and he delivers really good balls when he gets into that situation. 

“So yeah, he’s going to be much more than a right-back for us.”

“He’s just turned 21 and he’s a terrific player, his attributes are there for everyone to see,” added O’Neill.

“Conor will go to a very, very high level in the game. It’s game time that he needs and he’s at a club where that’s not easy to get. But when he comes here, he embraces getting game time. He had a little bit of cramp towards the end against Luxembourg.

“I think that’s alien to Conor, that’s not something he would have had a lot because he has that natural athleticism to play on that side.” O’Neill is blessed because he also has Sunderland’s Trai Hume, who skippered the Irish against Luxembourg, at right-back and he says they complement each other.”

“It depends on our approach to the game,” said O’Neill. 

“For example, if we felt we needed to be a bit more resolute, we could play Conor higher up and Trai as a wing-back. Equally if we felt we needed extra attacking quality, we could play Conor as a wing-back and Trai as a right-sided center-back.

“It doesn’t change a lot what they do, they’re still playing in the same area of the pitch, but it’s just the dynamic of it is slightly different.”