Dundee loanee Aaron Donnelly secures Northern Ireland call-up

Dundee loanee Aaron Donnelly will join Michael O’Neill’s Northern Ireland squad for a June double-header.

The Nottingham Forest defender made a real impact while on loan at Dens Park this season and hopes to win his maiden senior cap.

Donnelly is experienced at U/21 level and captained the side in recent matches.

His development at Dundee saw O’Neill move the 20-year-old into the senior side for two friendlies in March against Romania and Scotland.

However, he didn’t make his debut that time and was an unused sub as Northern Ireland defeated the Scots at Hampden.

Now he’s hoping to get on the pitch in two June friendlies.

First they play Spain on June 8 in Mallorca before travelling to Murcia to face Andorra three days later.

Left-sided defender Donnelly started on Saturday in his final match on loan at Dundee.

He made 21 appearances across the season with an ankle injury and then a heart condition restricting his game time.

Donnelly will join the likes of Manchester United defender Jonny Evans, Liverpool’s Conor Bradley and Rangers winger Ross McCausland in the squad.

Ex-St Johnstone star Ali McCann, now at Preston North End, has not been included.