IRELAND ATTACKING MIDFIELDER Jamie McGrath has the potential to crack the English Premier League.

That’s according to Ryan Flynn, one of his team-mates at current club St Mirren.

McGrath has taken the Scottish Premiership by storm since his arrival at the Paisley outfit from Dundalk in January 2020.

After winning St Mirren’s Player of the Year award last season, the 25-year-old was rewarded with a senior Ireland debut in the friendly against Andorra back in June.

Although he didn’t feature in Sunday night’s win against Luxembourg, McGrath earned his sixth cap in the draw with Portugal in Dublin last Thursday.

St Mirren’s manager, Waterford native Jim Goodwin, is facing a battle to retain the services of his compatriot, with English Championship side Middlesbrough and Scottish rivals Hibernian among the clubs who registered firm interest during the summer.

However, Flynn believes the Meath native is capable of going on to test himself at the highest level of club football in the UK.

“He’s definitely up there with the best I’ve ever played with. I think he can go really far,” he said of McGrath, as reported by Renfrewshire Live Sport. “People are asking if he could play in the English Premier League and I honestly don’t see why not.

“I think the way he plays the game, for us and for Ireland, he just suits it and thrives in it. He actually seems to thrive more the bigger the game is. I think he’ll go really far. He’s not just a great player, he’s a top lad as well.”

McGrath’s contract with St Mirren is due to expire at the end of the season, but he has been offered a new deal that would make him the highest-paid player in the club’s history.

Flynn, who came through the youth ranks at Liverpool and played in FA Cup and League Cup semi-finals for Sheffield United, added: “He [McGrath] has got a good head on his shoulders, he’s switched on.

“I don’t want to put too much pressure on him, but I think he’ll go right to the top and every player in our training room is right behind him.”