The midfielder has been rewarded for a string of fine performances at League One level with a place in the senior Northern Ireland squad for the upcoming World Cup qualifiers against Lithuania and Italy.
After captaining the Under-21s, he will be looking to add to his two full caps for his country and show how much his game is progressing at first-team level.
Wellens, a former United youth product himself, is convinced the 20-year-old, who has played 14 times for Rovers and scored his first goal in the recent draw with Cambridge United, is moving in the right direction and worthy of this latest call-up.