Northern Ireland boss Michael O’Neill says Conor Bradley’s Bolton loan has been “very successful” so far.

Bradley has gone from strength to strength since joining the Whites on loan from Liverpool over the summer.

The 19-year-old has been a mainstay in the side and has also contributed in the final third, scoring four times in total.

O’Neill has returned for a second spell in the hot seat. He was sacked by Championship side Stoke City back in August, with ex-Bolton man Dean Holden serving as his assistant at the Bet365 Stadium.

The Northern Ireland boss says Bradley is someone he has kept an eye on for some time and has been pleased with his progress at Wanderers.

Despite his youth, the wing-back has already made several appearances on the national stage, most recently in a 3-1 defeat against Greece in the Nations League. Bolton team-mate Dion Charles was also involved that day.

O’Neill is excited by Bradley’s potential and reckons the youngster will be “a big part of things going forward” for his country.

He said: "I was well aware of Conor Bradley, even from the point of when he was in the Victory Shield squad here, and had seen him play. His progress at Liverpool, I have always kept an eye on how he's doing.

"His loan at Bolton has been very successful so he's done extremely well. The only game I attended since I left was the Greece game here in the Nations League in June and he played that night, so it was nice to see him obviously start at international level as well.

“I think everyone knows that Conor is going to be a big part of things going forward."

O’Neill took charge of more than 70 games during his first spell as Northern Ireland boss, which lasted nine years.

He succeeds Ian Baraclough, who was sacked after just over two years in charge despite narrowly avoiding relegation to the bottom tier of the Nations League.

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