Sunderland defender Trai Hume “always had the confidence” he could play in England, despite not making the move to the Stadium of Light until he was 19-years-old.
The Northern Ireland international was not picked up by an academy side in England or Scotland and instead started his career back home in the Irish Premiership with Ballymena United and Linfield.
The 23-year-old earned the move to the Black Cats in January 2022 when the side were still in League One and, after two promotions in the North East, has played 21 times in the top flight this season.
“Obviously I wasn’t happy that I didn’t get to go across at 16, I was disappointed and angry in a way, but I wanted to prove I am good enough to play at whatever level,” he told BBC Sport NI.
“When I made my debut for Linfield at 17 I thought I was ready to play for Linfield. David Healy and I had a conversation at the time and he thought I should go on loan and David Jeffrey gave me the chance at Ballymena to play every game.
“I then had the confidence I could go across the water, and when I got here and got my chance to play I thought I could play at this level.”
Hume, who was named Northern Ireland Player of the Year for 2025, believes there are “benefits” to both joining an academy side at the earliest opportunity and racking up senior games in the Irish Premiership before moving.
“If you stay in the Irish league you will achieve first-team football quicker and get yourself established,” he added.
“Going across at 16, you could get stuck when you’re in between first team and 21s, but every pathway is different.
“It just depends on the personality and attitude of the player that’s doing it, and if you truly believe you deserve to play.”
Hume’s own journey has taken him from the Irish Premiership to the Premier League in just four years and he said the play-off victory at Wembley and Sunderland’s start to the season in the Premier League made 2025 the “best year” of his career so far.
“Those moments [in the play-offs] and rolling on into the Premier League, the start we have had and the amount of games I have played, it’s been a dream really,” he continued.
“When I first signed in the January window [2022] we were second in League One and I signed hoping I was going to play and we’d win promotion.
“I obviously got one of those things and didn’t play as much as I wanted to.
“That was disappointing at the time, but I finally got the chance in the Championship the year after and kept myself in the team and here we are a good few years later. The journey has been amazing, I couldn’t have pictured it any better.”
With his international team-mate Daniel Ballard also impressing under Regis Le Bris, Hume has featured in draws against Liverpool, Man City and Arsenal, as well as a derby victory over Newcastle, already this season, but picks the 2-1 win over Chelsea at Stamford Bridge in October as his personal highlight having supported the west London club as a child.
“Dan [Ballard] is also a Chelsea fan and we stood beside each other and we couldn’t believe that we were actually here and we beat the team we supported growing up,” he said.
“I had a lot of family members there and my granda was in the home end actually, the Chelsea end, and that was one of the moments that stands out when reflecting where we’re at at the minute.
“It was great. That’s one of the moments I soaked in.”
