'Duffy deserves international call-up' - Lynch
During Lynch's first season in charge, Duffy has signed a three-year contract extension
- Published
Derry City manager Tiernan Lynch believes "without a doubt" that winger Michael Duffy could play for the Republic of Ireland.
Duffy has been influential for the Candystripes this season, scoring 10 times as they seek to claim a European spot in the Premier Division.
The most recent Republic of Ireland squad, which was defeated by Portugal and won against 10-man Armenia in World Cup qualifiers, contained no players from the League of Ireland with Duffy not called up since he made the international switch in 2018.
"For me, Michael is the best player in the league and he has proven that," said Lynch.
"He is one of those boys who has a little bit of everything, he scores goals and he gets assists.
"We joked about it during the week at how he is not in that [Republic of Ireland] squad - we will never know. I think he is a lad who could definitely play at that level, without a doubt."
'League of Ireland stars can grab their chance'
Lynch believes Duffy is one of "two or three" League of Ireland players who could make an impact in Heimir Hallgrimsson's squad
Duffy came up through the ranks at the Brandywell and moved to Celtic in 2015 before having loan spells at multiple Scottish sides.
The 31-year-old returned to the Premier Division to play for Dundalk before coming back to Derry City in 2022.
After playing for Northern Ireland u19s and u21s, the winger made the move to the Republic of Ireland in 2018.
However, after a lengthy wait for international clearance, he is yet to be called into a squad.
"I think that in this league there are definitely two or three players, Duffy being one of them, that I don't see any reason why they shouldn't be in around that squad," Lynch continued.
"They definitely have the talent and the ability, and I would like to see them being given that chance."
The Republic of Ireland finish their World Cup qualifying campaign with a crucial clash against Portugal in Dublin before travelling to take on Hungary in their final fixture.
Heimir Hallgrimsson's side currently sit in third position in their group, one point behind Hungary in second and six points behind leaders Portugal.