Jonny Evans not thinking of leaving West Brom this summer but playing abroad still appeals

The 29-year-old was interesting Arsenal last summer before the Gunners bought Skhrodan Mustafi instead, and this April, head coach Tony Pulis predicted more clubs would come calling for the Northern Irishman this year.

There were also concerns the departure of long-term friend and driving companion Darren Fletcher to Stoke City would give the central defender itchy feet.

Not only did Fletcher convince Evans to leave Manchester United in favour of The Hawthorns, but they also shared lifts to training each day from their homes on the outskirts of Manchester.

But Evans, who still has two years left on the four-year contract he signed in 2015, is hoping to continue the ‘good job’ he is doing at the Baggies.

"Maybe he's trying to get rid of me - has he had enough?" Evans jokingly told Sky Sports News, when he was asked about Pulis’s comments.

"It gives you confidence when the manager appreciates you. It shows his belief that you've done a good job and hopefully I can continue doing that for West Brom."

Evans is currently the most likely person to replace Fletcher as Baggies captain, having been his former Manchester United team-mate’s understudy last season.

He captained Northern Ireland to a 1-0 victory over New Zealand on Friday night in an international friendly.

But Albion may not be able to hold on to him indefinitely, because he has a burning desire to ply his trade in a foreign country, and is particularly enticed by the prospect of playing in Spain.

Evans started learning Spanish two years ago and is keen to immerse himself in a new culture.

“Playing abroad has always appealed to me,” he said. "I've always watched a lot of Spanish football and more recently German football, so it's always something which has appealed to me.

"Footballers always say, 'I'd love to play abroad' and it often never happens, perhaps because the Premier League is such a big draw and we're lucky to have that on our doorstep.

“In the back of my head, if the opportunity came up, I would think about it more than other people.

"The style of play appeals but also a different culture - a lot of foreign players come to the Premier League to play and people from different countries always seem to embrace England and learn a new language, so the whole package appeals.

"I speak a fair bit of Spanish now. Since I came to West Brom I've been learning. I was always interested in languages. I did them at school.

"I thought rather than waste three hours of my day I would start to learn Spanish in the car. I can read pretty well, and I could read a Spanish newspaper, but speaking is a different thing, you need the confidence to speak it.

“If a move ever came about... yes, why not? I am probably at the stage with my Spanish where I need to immerse myself and speak every day to progress, so I have quite a good understanding of it.

"We have a Venezuelan, (Salomon) Rondon, Argentinian (Claudio) Yacob and (Cristian) Gamboa, who is Costa Rican, was there last year, so every now and then he would text me and I'd reply in Spanish, and I think they'd be quite impressed!"