Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Michael O’Neill shares pride over Harry Souttar Australia World Cup call-up and reveals first encounter at Brechin

Michael O'Neill has spoken of his pride after Harry Souttar was called up to the Australia World Cup squad. Image: PA/Shutterstock
Michael O'Neill has spoken of his pride after Harry Souttar was called up to the Australia World Cup squad. Image: PA/Shutterstock

Michael O’Neill has spoken of his pride at seeing former Dundee United kid Harry Souttar called up to Australia’s World Cup squad.

The 24-year-old was selected as part of Graham Arnold’s 26-man team and could earn his 11th cap when the Socceroos kick off their Qatar campaign on Tuesday against France.

Despite being born in Luthermuir and having represented Scotland at under-19 level, he qualifies as an Australian citizen through his mum Heather.

Souttar’s inclusion in the squad comes after making his return from an ACL injury, picked up in World Cup qualifying.

Harry Souttar suffered a ruptured ACL while playing for Australia in World Cup qualifying. Image: Izhar Ahmed Khan/Shutterstock
Harry Souttar suffered a ruptured ACL while playing for Australia in World Cup qualifying. Image: Izhar Ahmed Khan/Shutterstock

He has made just one appearance for Stoke since November last year.

O’Neill, however, believes the Potters star is well worth his place in the squad – and predicts he is destined for the top of the English game.

‘Harry’s a Premier League player’

The former Potters’ boss handed the towering 6ft 6in centre back his Championship debut in 2020 and has been a mainstay in the side ever since.

“I’m delighted for Harry, he’s a really good lad and a great player,” O’Neill said. “He was a big player for us and when he got injured, it was a big blow.

“At the time we were sitting in a very good position in the Championship, looking like a team who could get promoted.

“Then we lost Harry and another player, Nick Powell. That really hurt us as a team.

“I was delighted to see he’s managed to get back and involved for Australia.

“He’s only played one 90 minutes which isn’t a lot but I know the Australia coach rates and values him so hopefully he’ll do well.

“For me, Harry’s a Premier League player and he just needs time between now and the end of this season to pick up from where he left off.

“He had a lot of interest from Premier League clubs, prior to getting injured.”

O’Neill and Souttar’s ‘honest’ conversation

In a strange coincidence, O’Neill found himself reuniting with Souttar at Stoke after first meeting more than a decade prior at Brechin.

The Northern Irishman recalls meeting Harry as a young kid when he was City boss, along with his dad Jack and Rangers star brother John.

Given their history, O’Neill always looked out for Souttar and hoped he would make it, after moving to Stoke from United for around £250k in 2016.

Harry Souttar in his Dundee United days. Image: SNS
Harry Souttar in his Dundee United days. Image: SNS

“I remember them as two young boys coming up to the ground at the time,” O’Neill said. “They loved their football. It’s come full circle.

“With Harry, I always had a bit of a connection and I wanted to make sure he could fulfil his potential.

“He’d been at Stoke for years and he spent more time away from the club than he had at it. I wanted to change that and let him fulfil his potential.

Harry Souttar in action for stoke City last season. Image: Anthony Devlin/PA Wire.
Harry Souttar in action for stoke City last season. Image: Anthony Devlin/PA Wire.

“When I arrived, Harry was actually on loan to Fleetwood, I didn’t see him until he came back in the summer.

“I wasn’t sure if he was going to be right for us but we had an honest, straight-forward conversation.

“I told him to give it a go and if it didn’t work out, we could look at a permanent move somewhere else.

“But he took the opportunity and within a few months was signing a new contract.

“He made a big impact in a short space of time. I was keen to get him involved because I knew his background and quality and I saw that in training.”

Conversation