Southampton star is destined for the Premier League after international display

Southampton fans getting ready to settle down and watch the impending World Cup will recognise a lot of familiar faces.

Plenty of ex-Saints alumni will be performing in the American heat over the course of June and July, with Virgil Van Dijk in the heart of the Netherlands' defence, while another of their former stars, Sadio Mane, leads the line for Senegal.

There will, of course, also be some current Southampton personnel playing on the world's grandest stage, with Cyle Larin up top for Jesse Marsch's Canada, alongside Ross Stewart featuring for Scotland, while his short-term Saints future remains up in the air.

Shea Charles heartbreakingly won't be there for Northern Ireland, but that didn't stop him from strutting his stuff against France in a recent friendly contest to shine for his nation.

Charles' standout display vs France

France will be considered one of the favourites for the famed tournament, with their ranks boasting the likes of Michael Olise, Desire Doue, Ousmane Dembele, and Kylian Mbappe, and that's just in attack.

Olise would tear to Northern Ireland to shreds with a blistering hat-trick, but Charles still managed to stand out on a pitch that flaunted such world-class talent.

Come the end of the 3-1 defeat, the Southampton star turned Northern Ireland regular would misplace just four passes, despite playing against some of the world's best.

One of his 32 successful passes on the night would hand the visitors a consolation strike, too, as Patrick Kelly would beat Mike Maignan late on, after Charles won a one-on-one battle with a France defender, before teeing up the Barnsley attacker for his first-ever international goal.

This wasn't the only occasion where Charles opened up the France defence, nor the only instance where he used his grit and determination to come out on top in a duel, with four tackles and duels won in total.

Safe to say, he won't be sticking it out with Southampton for much longer, as he looks even more destined for a big move to a top-flight club, after his standout performance versus Didier Deschamps' Les Bleus.

He is destined for a Premier League move

This isn't the first time the one-time Manchester City youth product has classily gone about his business for his nation, either, with a showing back in March against Italy from the 22-year-old seeing him spray the ball about with ease again.

The 2-0 defeat on that occasion to Gli Azzurri killed Michael O'Neill and Co's dreams of competing at the World Cup, but despite all this international agony, Charles is destined for a big move this summer.

Indeed, he is fresh off a formative season in the Championship where he was consistently a standout performer for the South Coast giants, even when he wasn't regularly starting, with six goal contributions collected from only 22 league starts.

Winning 4.7 duels on average, too, it's not the biggest shock in the world that teams such as Everton and Manchester United are keen on his services, with the Toffees previously striking gold when snapping up promising midfield talents, like the number 24, in the form of James Garner.

Southampton has stood out this summer so far for being a team that won't just roll over for Premier League suitors, with both Peretz and Larin tied down to permanent deals, but Charles has undoubtedly put himself in the shop window with yet another composed and assured performance for his nation.

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