DION Charles is the main man up front for Northern Ireland at present, even if Conor Washington and Josh Magennis weren't absent from the squad because of injuries.
Manager Michael O'Neill acknowledged that they, and Shayne Lavery, had been playing at a higher level than the Bolton Wanderer – but Charles has been finding the net more.
"Dion is the one who has probably staked his claim the most, because he has obviously scored the most goals at club level," said O'Neill.
"I think Conor and Josh were playing slightly differently in the Championship. If you look at the other three lads, Conor, Josh, and Shayne, they're all playing in teams that struggled in the Championship.
"That in itself is a big challenge for a striker, playing in a team that's in the bottom six of the Championship, compared to one that's playing in the top six of League One, compared to where your club is and the opportunities you get."
O'Neill did not rule out playing two up top away to Denmark in Friday night's Euro 2024 qualifier, although that seems unlikely against such a good team. Laverty's lack of game-time with Blackpool recently may also count against him starting:
"Certainly Dion has made an impact, I've watched him quite a bit – but the competition is there. We played two strikers against San Marino and Finland. If that is to change, we may have to look at that.
"It's good for us to have Shayne back as well because he does give you an energy at the top end of the pitch, maybe a little bit more than the other players are capable of.
"But obviously Shayne missed a big chunk of the second half of the season with a hamstring injury and he only got some minutes in the last game. So we had to manage him through the training camps. He was brilliant, came in and trained with the 21s as well. We'll just see how he is and what we can get out of him in these two games. Having him back is a big plus as well."
