John Egan rebuilds career to become Hull City regular in Premier League

Released by Sheffield United after an Achilles injury, the 33-year-old defender is now a top-flight regular and back in the Republic of Ireland setup.

Eighteen months after leaving Burnley in search of playing time, John Egan has established himself as a Premier League regular with Hull City. The defender, now 33, ruptured his Achilles while playing for Sheffield United against West Ham in September 2023 and was released by the club when his contract expired the following summer. He earned a one-year deal at Burnley after a trial but managed only seven appearances there before moving to Hull in January on an 18-month contract.

Egan became a key figure under Sergej Jakirovic, making 48 appearances as Hull reached the Championship play-offs and beat Middlesbrough in the final to reach the Premier League for the first time since 2017. He signed a new two-year contract earlier this month and has featured in five of Hull's league games this season, including a 2-0 opening-day win over Manchester United in which he made 18 clearances. Hull have also kept clean sheets against Coventry and Aston Villa, drawn at Chelsea and lost narrowly to Newcastle.

His club form brought an Ireland recall in October last year after two years out of the squad. Competition from Nathan Collins, Dara O'Shea and Jake O'Brien had reduced him to a fringe role under Heimir Hallgrimsson, but he won his 38th cap by starting a 0-0 friendly draw against North Macedonia in May. With Collins injured and Hallgrimsson favoring a back three, Egan is in contention for the Nations League opener against Kosovo.