Michael O'Neill praises Jordan Thompson's impact since joining Stoke City from Blackpool

The midfielder, who made the switch to the Championship club during the January transfer window, was threatening to establish himself as a regular in Stoke’s first-team prior to the suspension of English football.

The 23-year-old, who spent two seasons on the Fylde coast, has made seven appearances since signing for the Potters for an undisclosed fee.

“We knew what we were bringing in with Jordan,” O’Neill told the Stoke Sentinel.

“He’s a player I obviously know well because I’ve seen him play from a young age, from Under-17 international football with Northern Ireland when he was a Manchester United player.

“I’ve followed his career very closely and seen how he’s dealt with disappointment and fought his way back to get to this club.

“What we identified in Jordan was a player who’d bring a hunger to the training and a hunger to the team as well.

“And he was also real value for money, which is hard to find in the Championship.

“I think sometimes you see what the club has spent in other areas in the past and not had a great return for that, so I think Jordan coming in has been a real plus.

“He’s a really gifted left-footed player. I think he’s learning all the time and whether he plays at the base of a midfield three, or the left of a three, he gives us options.

“He’s got a good delivery from set pieces as well, so there’s a lot of positives from his performances and he’s fitted well into the club.”

Former Northern Ireland coach O'Neill was the man responsible for handing a first international cap to Thompson in May 2018.

His first senior start for his country came in a 1-0 friendly win over Luxembourg in September of last year and has since played against the likes of Germany and the Netherlands.

O’Neill added: “Jordan’s had a little bit of exposure at senior international level and part of that was possibly because of the level he was playing his club football at (with Blackpool), which meant he was having to try and get ahead of players who were playing in the Championship or possibly the Premier League.

“So it made it difficult with him playing League One football, but we always believed Jordan was capable of playing at a higher level. He’s proving that at this minute in time with Stoke.

“I never felt, having watched him come into the international team, even when he was with Blackpool at League One, that he looked out of place.

“So stepping into the building here, you see the reaction of players like Sam Clucas and Joe Allen, you can see they really rate him as a player.

“So the onus is on Jordan now to take that forward and really build a strong career here at Stoke.

“He just has to maintain his form. He doesn’t have to go out and think he has to do anything extraordinary or anything different to what he’s been doing.

“I think we will see a player who will grow in confidence and I think supporters will see, as time goes on, a better player than they are seeing at this minute in time and that’s the most important thing.

“We have to make sure that the focus of the player is his job in the team.”