He has spent the season so far at Sheffield United filling in at right-back - and Hamza Choudhury illustrated there are even more strings to his bow with another milestone on international duty this week. The Blades utlity man captained Bangladesh for the first time in their SAFF Championship clash with Sri Lanka.

And Choudhury marked the occasion with a goal as Thomas Dooley’s side ran out 4-0 winners at the National Stadium, with Bangladesh now preparing for a semi-final clash with Pakistan over the weekend.

Choudhury signed for United in the summer from Leicester City and could be set for an extended run at right-back in the coming weeks after Femi Seriki suffered a season-ending injury last weekend at Charlton Athletic.

Matt Doherty is still on the road to recovery, although he was placed on standby for the Republic of Ireland’s squad over this current international break, while Jamie Shackleton is also battling for fitness.

And Choudhury showed his versatility again this week with a starring role in the No.10 role against the Sri Lankans. “I was hoping that his presence in the number 10 position would attract a little bit more attention from the other team,” boss Dooley explained.

“When Hamza plays in defensive midfield, in a six or an eight position, he goes forward a lot because he wants to help everywhere. We thought that if we could put him up front, he could help with his football knowledge, passing to the wide players and the centre-forward, shots from 20 yards and runs into the box. He can be a really dangerous player for us up front.

“In this team, he has to go everywhere. And that's what we want to take away from him a little bit. Say: 'No, concentrate only here.' In the 10, you can do whatever you want. And it worked out perfectly, so I'm very happy with that.”

Choudhury was handed the armband with regular skipper Jamal Bhuyan absent alongside fellow key men Topu Barman and Saad Uddin. “There's no better captain than Hamza, there's no question about that,” Dooley, who described Choudhury’s performance as “10/10,” added.

“I hope that he wants to be the captain every game that he's playing. When I came, what they were saying was that he doesn't want to be the captain.

“And that's why Jamal was the captain. But he doesn't need to be the captain. Whatever he says, the players follow him anyway, so it's not important. With his presence on the field, it's very important to have a player like him.”