John Egan’s return to the Premier League has been a story of perseverance. Just 18 months ago, at 31, he was struggling for minutes off the bench for promotion-chasing Burnley in the Championship and decided to make a January switch to Hull City. Now 33, he is a Premier League regular for a Hull side that has taken many by surprise on its return to the top flight.
Egan probably thought his last Premier League appearance had already come when he was stretchered off with a season-ending Achilles injury while playing for Sheffield United against West Ham in September 2023. The injury curtailed his Premier League return and kept him out for close to 10 months. He made 208 appearances for Sheffield United across six seasons, winning promotion to the Premier League with them in 2019 and 2023, and was named club captain in the summer of 2023. His final game for the Blades came in September that year in a 2-0 defeat against West Ham. His contract expired the following summer and the club decided not to renew it, leaving Egan hurt as he tried to battle back from the injury.
He went on trial with Burnley and West Ham, and then Burnley boss Scott Parker saw enough to offer him a one-year deal as the Clarets sought a quick return to the top flight after relegation the previous campaign. But Burnley’s flying start in the Championship, combined with Egan working back to full fitness, restricted him to seven appearances. Five months later he swapped a promotion push at Turf Moor for a relegation battle with Hull.
Egan signed an 18-month deal with Hull and was thrown straight in, completing his first 90 minutes in over a year in a 2-0 loss against Burnley in February. He made 10 more appearances as Hull stayed up on goal difference on the final day. The following campaign, under Sergej Jakirovic, the club was transformed and a fully-fit Egan became a key player. He played 48 times as Hull reached the play-offs and beat Middlesbrough in the final to return to the Premier League for the first time since 2017.
Egan has continued that form in the top flight. He starred in an opening-day 2-0 win over Manchester United, making 18 clearances, and has since helped Hull keep clean sheets against Coventry and Aston Villa before they earned a point against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge and lost narrowly against Newcastle. Earlier this month he signed a new two-year deal and has played five of Hull’s league games. Hull and Egan have shown they are up for the fight to stay in the league.
His Hull form earned him a Republic of Ireland recall in October last year after two years without a call-up. Once an automatic starter, Egan has slipped down the pecking order following the rise of Nathan Collins, Dara O’Shea and Jake O’Brien and has played a bit-part role under Heimir Hallgrimsson. He came off the bench late in a 1-0 defeat against Portugal and was on the bench for subsequent wins over Armenia, Portugal and Hungary, the latter giving Ireland a shot at the World Cup via the play-offs. He was an unused substitute in the shootout defeat against Czech Republic before winning his 38th cap by starting a 0-0 friendly draw with North Macedonia in May.
With Hallgrimsson preferring three centre-backs, Egan has staked a claim for a slot in the Nations League opener against Kosovo. His case is strengthened by captain Collins being out injured, O’Brien being limited to three appearances for Everton and O’Shea playing out of position at right-back for Ipswich. The other centre-back options in the squad, new call-up Liam Kitching, Jimmy Dunne and James Abankwah, are inexperienced internationally. Even if he does not start in Pristina, the condensed window, with a game against Austria sandwiched between two against Israel in 12 days, means he is sure to see some game time.
Given what he has gone through to make it back to the top flight and into the Irish squad, Egan will fancy his chances of re-establishing himself as a starter for his country, just as he did at club level.