Burnley striker Kyle Lafferty's dream season has ended with a call-up to the full Northern Ireland squad.

The Clarets teenager will join up with Lawrie Sanchez's men for their mini-tour of the United States in the summer.

Lafferty, who featured in the U21 side's 4-0 win over Liechtenstein in last night's European Qualifying match at Windsor Park in Belfast, had been expecting to link up with the U19 side in Belgium.

However Northern Ireland coach Sanchez has instead promoted the 18-year-old to the full squad.

Lafferty will therefore end a whirlwind first year as a professional by linking up with Clarets team-mates Michael Duff and Steve Jones for Ireland's two games in the USA, against Uruguay in the Giant Stadium, New Jersey on Sunday, May 21 and Romania five days later at Soldier Field, Chicago.

Lafferty was one of the Clarets' young guns who made the grade into first team football. Alongside Chris McCann, Lafferty was blooded by Steve Cotterill last season.

The Belfast boy impressed on a short stint at League two side Darlington, where he scored three goals in nine appearances for the Quakers.

So far in his fledgling Clarets career, Lafferty has made three starts and eight substitute appearances but finished the season with a bang as he bagged his first Burnley and Championship goal in the 1-1 draw with Luton on the final day of the season.

And Clarets boss Steve Cotterill hoped that he would come back from his trip as an international footballer.

Cotterill said: "We are obviously delighted for Kyle and we all hope that he doesn't go all the way to America and not return with a full international cap."

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