Northern Ireland assistant Jimmy Nicholl has tipped the young goalkeeper to be a hit at Ibrox
Pierce Charles(Image: Tom Sandberg/PPAUK/Shutterstock)
Jimmy Nicholl reckons Rangers would be in safe hands if they took a punt on Northern Ireland keeper Pierce Charles.
The 20-year-old is set to leave Sheffield Wednesday in the summer and has been heavily linked with a reunion with former Owls boss Danny Rohl at Ibrox.
Northern Ireland assistant Nicholl is a huge admirer of the youngster who has already won 10 caps for his country. And he says his ability with his feet is every bit as impressive as the quality he has shown with his hands.
Rangers are among a host of clubs understood to be monitoring the former Manchester City kid. And Nicholl expects Charles to have a huge future in the game.
He told Record Sport: “Certainly, I wouldn’t discourage anybody from taking a punt on him now, actually. Not only Rangers.
“Honestly, this young boy, the football intelligence in his head at 20 years of age, he just calms everybody down.
“The players, the defenders, if they’re under pressure, they’ll give it back to Pierce and he’s such a calming influence on them all.
“I would say, eight, nine times out of 10, his choice of pass from that situation is a good one.
“And he’s either clipping it up the strikers or he reads the situation.
“He’s looking ahead to see what happens. If a midfielder comes short, then he clips it over the midfielder into the striker.
“He’s playing football from the 18-yard box.
“But I’ve never felt, ‘this is too much, he’s overplayed’.
“If he has to kick it up the park, he’ll kick it up the park.
“But he just reads the game so well ,where his next pass is going to be after the short one.”
Charles has made 34 appearances for Wednesday since being handed his debut by Rohl as an 18-year-old in January 2024.
He made his full international debut later that year against Belarus and started the World Cup play off defeat to Italy in Rome last month.
And Nicholl reckons he is the full package of goalkeeping.
He said: “I’ve spoken about how good he is with the ball at his feet but he’s got a bit of everything.
“He’s a good shotstopper. He’s brave the kid. And he’s perfectly happy coming for balls. He’s not a big strapping, but he’ll get stronger.
“Pierce has got a big future ahead of him.”
Follow Record Sport on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram for all of the up-to-the minute breaking news, video and audio on the SPFL, the Scotland national team and beyond.
You can get all the news you need on our dedicated Rangers and Celtic pages, and sign up to our newsletters to make sure you never miss a beat throughout the season.
We’re also on WhatsApp where we bring all the latest breaking news and transfer gossip directly to you phone. Join our Rangers community here and our Celtic community here.
Tune in to Hotline Live every Sunday to Thursday and have your say on the biggest issues in Scottish football and listen to Record Sport’s newest podcast, Game On, every Friday for your sporting fix, all in bitesize chunks.
Get more Daily Record exclusives by signing up for free to Google’s preferred sources. Click HERE.