Isaac Price goal record prediction as West Brom man backed continue sparkling Northern Ireland form
Isaac Price's international career continues to go from strength to strength.
The 21-year-old Albion midfielder scored his ninth Northern Ireland goal in their friendly win over Iceland last week.
In the process he became the youngest player to reach nine goals and drew level with players such as George Best and Norman Whiteside.
The midfielder, who was a revelation for Albion after joining from Standard Liege in January, now has five goals in his last seven international appearances, which including a hat-trick in a 5-0 win over Bulgaria.
And he has now been backed to potentially eclipse David Healy's record of 36 goals in 95 appearances for his country.
Healy is Northern Ireland's all time leading goalscorer, but Price's international team mate Josh Magennis believes Price has the potential to beat that number.
He believes Price's constant goal threat and his ability to hit the target when put into good positions is the reason he could reach the landmark.
He said: "You can’t look past Isaac Price – he always carries a threat.
"He has been absolutely sensational for Michael and I know he drifts in and out of games and you think he’s not doing much, but that’s (goal threat) why Michael will never sub him off – unless he’s having a right stinker!
"He will always keep him on the pitch because he carries a goal threat and he has proved that many times before.
"Ideally for us we need to get our best players in advanced areas and the positions where they can hurt the opposition.
"That’s what Isaac does. He might float in and out of games in the defensive and middle thirds, but where it counts he always pops up and scores.
"He always hits the target, always carries a threat.
"I said this earlier and people gasped at me, I think he will be the closest one to catch David Healy that we’ve seen...I think he will pass me, pass Laffs (Kyle Lafferty).
"The goal-to-game ratio is astonishing and to do it at this level against all types of opposition is amazing – he’s not playing against teams ranked 150 in the world, he’s playing against top opposition and producing at the highest level.
"Long may that continue because we don’t have an out-and-out goalscorer, myself included, at this moment in time, so you need goals and when Isaac is on the pitch, it’s vital.”
