'He's been unbelievable': Jayson Molumby on West Brom's Dara O'Shea thriving in captaincy role

The 24-year-old Baggies academy graduate was named captain for the first time in the 5-2 home win over Hull City earlier in the season.

Since then, aside from a handful of games, O'Shea has led the Baggies during their rise up the Championship table.

O'Shea and Molumby both starred together in the Republic of Ireland's narrow defeat to France on Sunday - and speaking during the international break, the latter praised the young defender for taking on the pressure of the Albion captaincy and thriving, despite the club being in a tough position when he took over.

Molumby said: "He has been unbelievable to be honest.

"At West Brom, when he was given the armband we were in a sticky situation, the fans were a bit upset and the club was in a bit of a poor position.

"To take that pressure and perform the way he has and lead us is a credit to him, so hats off to him for that.

"I love playing with him and I'm happy he is back playing to this level.

"I feel like we rub off well on each other, he's a cool and calm head and I'm a bit, well not so cool and calm, so it rubs off well on each other."

O'Shea was named as Albion's captain just months after returning from a broken ankle he picked up during international duty back in September 2021.

Molumby himself has also suffered extended periods out injured in the past.

During his time at Brighton, he spent seven months on the sidelines with a serious knee injury - before injuring the same knee on his return to fitness.

That put the midfielder out of action for another eight months - and he has revealed how he was able to help O'Shea through his injury issues due to his own experiences.

He added: "He is a really good friend of mine, and I was able to relate to him a lot when he was out injured.

"He was comfortable speaking to me about different things that I could relate to from being out so long, when others maybe couldn't."