Stuart Dallas, the former Northern Ireland international, has backed Shea Charles to excel in the Premier League following his record-breaking £30 million transfer from Southampton to Fulham. Dallas described the deal as "a good signing for Fulham and a good move for Shea."

Charles, 22, became the most expensive Northern Ireland footballer ever upon completing the switch to Craven Cottage this week. He began his career with Manchester City before joining Southampton, where he also spent a loan spell at Sheffield Wednesday.

The midfielder made headlines during Southampton's ill-fated play-off campaign last season, netting an injury-time winner against Middlesbrough in the semi-final to send his side to the final — only for the Saints to be subsequently disqualified as a result of the so-called 'spygate' affair.

Despite the controversy, Charles' performances caught the eye. The 35-cap Northern Ireland international now gets his chance to shine at the highest level of English football, and Dallas is in no doubt he will rise to the challenge.

"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. 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 move for Shea — I hope he does well," Dallas told BBC Sport NI.

Northern Ireland built around Charles

Dallas, who made 248 appearances for Leeds United during a decade at Elland Road, is emphatic that Charles has already proven his credentials at international level. He highlighted how Northern Ireland manager Michael O'Neill has constructed the team around the midfielder in recent seasons.

"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 said.

Dallas pointed to Charles' display in the World Cup play-off against Italy as evidence of his calibre: "He ran the show for 60 minutes and if you put him in the Italian side, he wouldn't have looked out of place — that speaks volumes. 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."

Galbraith targeting more natural role at Stoke

Charles is not the only Northern Ireland player to move this summer. Ethan Galbraith has left Swansea to join Stoke City for an undisclosed fee. The 25-year-old from Glengormley scored three goals in 39 appearances for The Swans last season after arriving from Leyton Orient, though he was deployed largely at right-back.

Dallas believes Galbraith, who has earned 11 caps for Northern Ireland, is better suited to a midfield or wide role and expects him to flourish once given the opportunity to play in those positions regularly.

"He's a really talented footballer and when he is on the ball, he makes things happen. He's able to play out wide and drift in, able to play deep and dictate things," Dallas said. "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."