Credit: Imago

James Barker

Mon 30 March 2026 16:00, UK

Isaac Price has reignited his West Bromwich Albion form, and that’s precisely why Northern Ireland and Blackburn manager Michael O’Neill may plan to tire him out before Easter Monday.

The 22-year-old was coming under heavy criticism for his role in West Brom’s relegation battle prior to James Morrison’s appointment as interim head coach.

Many Albion fans were frustrated at the lack of impact their star midfielder was making, and the relationship between them soured further after he clashed with supporters at Fratton Park back in January.

However, Price has been back to his best over the last few games, and scored his first goal since 16 January in the 3-0 win over Hull City on 14 March.

As such, he looks set to have a huge say on West Brom’s survival push after the international break is finished, but beware the potential for an early April Fools joke by O’Neill.

What is Michael O’Neill’s possible Isaac Price plan?

West Brom play Blackburn Rovers on Easter Monday, with Albion set to be backed by a huge away following at Ewood Park.

It’s a big relegation six-pointer in the Championship, with the two sides currently sitting level on 43 points, with only Rovers’ slightly better goal difference keeping them above the Baggies in the table.

Before then, however, Price has one more piece of international duty to attend to, as Northern Ireland prepare to take on Wales in an international friendly on Tuesday night.

So, whilst there’s nothing riding on it in terms of World Cup qualification, Northern Ireland boss O’Neill may have spotted an opportunity to deploy a rather cruel, albeit cunning plan involving Price, West Brom and Blackburn.

The 56-year-old is also the manager of Blackburn, and so he’ll know that playing Price for the full 90 minutes against Wales would prevent him the opportunity to rest up before Rovers and Albion meet on Easter Monday.

Morrison won’t want to leave him out against Wrexham on Good Friday either, and so the very best thing O’Neill could do for Albion is to not involve him against Wales.

Now, depending on how ruthless O’Neill wants to be, he could just decide to prioritise his job of keeping Blackburn in the Championship over this friendly game, and thus try to exhaust Price as much as possible.

Price would face ethical dilemma if O’Neill starts him vs Wales

So, what would Price do if he’s told he’s playing the full 90 minutes against Wales by O’Neill?

He could simply decide to just trudge around for the duration of the game with his West Brom schedule in mind, but on the flip side, he’d also be aware that doing this would be seen as an insult to the Northern Ireland shirt.

As outlined in the above graphic from Sofascore, Price has still been one of Albion’s most important and one of their key talismanic presences this season.

Therefore, both he and West Brom know how important it is that he’s on form for the final weeks of the season, but O’Neill won’t want him firing on all cylinders against his Blackburn team that’s for sure.

It’s a fascinating situation to monitor going into Tuesday night, as all eyes at both Ewood Park and The Hawthorns will be on O’Neill’s teamsheet.