Former Northern Ireland international Stuart Dallas feels Shea Charles’ record-breaking move to the Premier League is “a good signing for Fulham and a good move for Shea”.

Charles became the most expensive Northern Ireland footballer this week after completing a £30m switch from Southampton to Craven Cottage.

The 22-year-old began his career with Manchester City before moving to Championship club Southampton, also spending a season on loan at Sheffield Wednesday.

During last season’s ill-fated play-off campaign for the Saints, Charles’ injury-time winner in the semi-final against Middlesbrough initially sent them to the final, only for them to be subsquently disqualified because of the ‘spygate’ affair.

His performances did not go unnoticed and the midfielder, who has won 35 Northern Ireland caps, will get his opportunity to star at the top level of English football with Dallas confident he can do just that.

“It is a big jump from the Championship to the Premier League – the gap is huge – but Shea is coming from good stock in Manchester City, so he’s been in and around it,” Dallas told BBC Sport NI.

“Shea has real quality. He’s a very good footballer, intelligent and wants to learn, so it’s a good signing for Fulham and a good for for Shea – I hope he does well.”

Dallas, who made 248 appearances for Leeds United in a 10-season spell at Elland Road, insists Charles’ performances at club and international level have proven “he can play Premier League football”.

Now an established international, Dallas has noted how Northern Ireland manager Michael O’Neill has “built the team around him in recent years”.

“There are other players there like Conor Bradley and Trai Hume, but Shea in the middle of the park is the nucleus of the team and Michael has focused around that,” Dallas continued.

“I think back to the Italy game [World Cup play-off] when he ran the show for 60 minutes and if you put him in the Italian side, he wouldn’t have looked out of place, so that speaks volumes of his performances.

“There’s still improvement in him, he’s still young and has played a lot of games at Championship level, so hopefully he can kick on and go to a new level.”

Charles is not the only Northern Ireland star to have made a move this summer with Ethan Galbraith swapping Swansea for Stoke on an undisclosed fee.

The 25-year-old impressed for The Swans last season after joining from Leyton Orient, scoring three goals in 39 appearances where he was mostly utilised at right-back.

However, the Glengormley native is perhaps more comfortable in midfield or on the wing and Dallas is confident he too can thrive in a new environment.

“He’s a really talented footballer and when he is on the ball, he makes things happen and has shown a different role with Northern Ireland at times – he’s able to play out wide and drift in, able to play deep and dictate things,” Dallas said of Galbraith who has won 11 caps.

“He’s gone to Stoke and will have ambitions of playing at the highest level, but it’s important he enjoys his football and plays regularly.

“He played a lot at right-back with Swansea but hopefully he gets to show more of what he is about in his stronger position.”