Former Sheffield United centre-half John Egan looks to be on his way to Hull City, according to Pete O’Rourke.
The current Burnley defender is set to sign a permanent deal with the East Yorkshire outfit, having only signed for the Clarets in the summer. He will be hoping to help the Tigers have an improved second half of the campaign, adding to Rubén Sellés’ winter signings that include Louie Barry, Joe Gelhardt and Kyle Joseph.
Wealth of Experience
Born in Cork, Egan’s first footballing exploits in England came with Sunderland. Loan spells with Bradford and Southend provided some experience in the fourth tier. He also had his first taste of Bramall Lane, joining for a short time when the Blades experienced a crisis in defence.
His career took off with Gillingham, winning their Player of the Season award in his first term before being named in the League One Team of the Year the following year. Egan moved up a level with Brentford, playing 67 times in the second tier before moving to join Chris Wilder’s Blades.
Promotion was sealed in his first campaign in South Yorkshire, going onto enjoy two years of consistent top-flight football before only missing a singular league game in two campaigns after relegation back to the Championship. Egan left the Blades having played 224 times for the club.
Lacking in Minutes
Burnley have broke all sorts of records this term with their incredible defence, but that has come without the 32-year-old’s involvement. Egan has just 162 league minutes of action this term, starting only once against Middlesbrough in December. On top of that, the Republic of Ireland international has played more than five minutes in a Championship game only once more.
Released in the summer by Sheffield United, Egan also had a disrupted time last season. An Achilles injury kept the Blades captain out of action from the end of September, meaning he played just six top-flight games.
Writer’s View
If Hull can get Egan playing anywhere near how he had for Sheffield United during his five campaigns of consistent gametime, then his services will be imperative. The Tigers have made their aspirations clear with their winter business thus far and will be hoping to continue to pull away from the bottom three and into the safety of mid-table.
