A few extra eyes might be on Shane Duffy when he returns to action with his national team tonight.

The Albion defender goes up against Christian Eriksen as the Republic of Ireland face Denmark in a Euro 2020 qualifier.

Eriksen is currently at the centre of attention after seemingly opening the door to a move away from Tottenham.

He told Danish media this week: “I feel that I am a place in my career where I might want to try something new.

“I have the wildest and deepest respect for everything that has happened in Tottenham.

“But in football you do not know when clarification comes. It can happen any time.”

Eriksen has a year left on his deal and has been linked with Real Madrid.

His comments, on the back of Champions League heartbreak with Spurs against Liverpool, will only trigger more talk about his future around some of Europe’s leading football cities.

And Duffy will be one of the men charged with keeping him quiet.

The Irish are off to a flying start to their qualifying campaign but this will be their toughest test.

The Argus:

Duffy was outstanding at Tottenham on the night seemed Albion would grind out a precious point - until Eriksen fired home from the edge of the box on 89 minutes.

Albion’s player of the year said: “He’s a top player, so he can be dangerous whenever he wants. He’s a top player who’s at a top club and probably top clubs want him.

“He’s a big player for Denmark as well, so he won’t want to let his team-mates or his country down, so I’m sure he will be up for it and trying to beat us.

“We all know him - I’ve played him a couple of times this season already and the last four games with Denmark, so he knows what to expect when he’s up against us.”

The trip to Denmark and Gibraltar’s Group D visit to the Aviva which follows it come at the end of a season which proved a testing one for Duffy at club level.

A run of nine league games without a win left them fighting for their lives.

Their return to some defensive rigour staved off the worst but players now have a new boss to impress after Graham Potter succeeded the sacked Chris Hughton.

Duffy said: “It was tough a couple of months there at the end. It’s different than what we are used to.

“The season is done. We just about stayed up, which was the aim at the start anyway.

“So it’s a fresh start now back here with two huge games, which everybody is looking forward to.”

This will be the fifth time Ireland and Denmark have gone into battle inside 18 months.

Denmark won 5-1 in a play-off, second-leg at the Aviva but the other three all ended up goalless.

Duffy said: “We are a lot closer than what people think.

“The 5-1 game is probably the only one where we were out-classed and out-played on the night.

“We’ve got top players here in this team as well and in the squad. We’ve got that bond together that maybe other countries don’t have, and we’ve got that quality.

“People have their opinions on everyone. We believe in the squad that we are a lot closer and we can beat them on the night.

“As long as we believe that in the dressing room, that’s probably the most important thing because we are going out there to try to beat them.”