John Egan: Republic of Ireland's defender's late career resurgence back to Premier League

Just 18 months ago a 31-year-old John Egan was struggling for minutes off the bench for promotion-chasing Burnley and decided to make a January switch to fellow Championship side Hull City.

Fast forward to the present day and Egan is a Premier League regular for the Tigers, who have taken everyone by surprise upon their return to the top flight.

It's been quite a turnaround for the now 33-year-old, who probably thought his last Premier League appearance had already come, when he was taken off on a stretcher with a season-ending Achilles injury when playing for Sheffield United against West Ham in September 2023.

Egan has quietly rebuilt his career after being released by the Blades, first with the Clarets before finding a home at Hull after joining in 2024.

He signed a new two-year deal earlier this month, has played five of their league games and has even forced his way back into the Republic of Ireland squad.

His late career resurgence back to the Premier League is a story of perseverance and unwavering belief despite considerable adversity.

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Egan made 208 appearances for Sheffield United during his six seasons with the club, winning promotion to the Premier League with them in 2019 and 2023.

He was named club captain in the summer of 2023, but would play his last game for the Blades in September that same year as an Achilles injury curtailed his Premier League return and kept him out for close to 10 months.

The defender's contract expired the following summer and the club decided not to renew the deal, leaving Egan hurt and in the lurch as he tried to battle back from that serious injury and continue his career.

He went on trial to Burnley and West Ham, with then Clarets boss Scott Parker seeing enough from the experienced centre-back to offer him a one-year deal with the club seeking a quick return to the top flight after relegation the previous season.

With Burnley then getting off to a flying start in the Championship, Egan, who was working back to full fitness, was restricted to just seven appearances and decided to swap a promotion push at Turf Moor for a relegation battle with Hull just five months later.

He signed an 18-month deal and was thrown straight in, completing his first 90 minutes in over a year, coincidentally against Burnley in a 2-0 loss in February.

The Kerry native would go on to make 10 more appearances as Hull stayed up on goal difference on the final day.

Manager Sergej Jakirovic then came in and transformed the club the following campaign, with a fully-fit Egan a key player in their success.

He played 48 times as Hull sneaked into the play-offs and then beat Middlesborough in the final to return to the Premier League for the first time since 2017.

Egan picked up where he left off last season in the top flight this term, as evidenced by his performance in the opening day 2-0 victory over Manchester United.

He made 18 clearances against the Red Devils and has since helped the Tigers keep clean sheets against Coventry and Aston Villa before they earned a point against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge and lost narrowly against Newcastle.

It's been a dream return to the top flight for Hull and Egan, who have shown they are up for the fight in the battle to stay in the league.

Republic of Ireland recall two years on and eyeing up more caps

Egan's form at Hull helped him to earn an international recall with the Republic of Ireland in October last year, after two years without a call-up.

Previously an automatic starter, the rise of the likes of Nathan Collins, Dara O'Shea and Jake O'Brien have pushed him down the pecking order and he has played a bit-part role under Heimir Hallgrimsson.

Egan came off the bench for the closing stages of the 1-0 defeat against Portugal and was then on the bench for the subsequent wins against Armenia, Portugal and famously Hungary, which gave them a shot at the World Cup via the play-offs.

He again was an unused substitute in the heartbreaking shootout defeat against Czech Republic before winning his 38th cap by starting in a 0-0 friendly draw against North Macedonia in May.

With Hallgrimsson's preference for playing with three centre-backs, Egan has certainly staked a claim for occupying one of those slots in the Nations League opener against Kosovo given his start to the season.

His case is strengthened by the fact that captain Collins is out injured, O'Brien has been limited to three appearances for Everton and O'Shea has been playing out of position at right-back for Ipswich Town.

The other centre-back options in the squad - new call-up Liam Kitching, Jimmy Dunne and James Abankwah - are inexperienced on the international stage.

Even if he does not start in Pristina, the condensed nature of the window and with a game against Austria sandwiched between two against Israel in 12 days, he is sure to see some game time for his country.

Given what he has gone through just 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 country as he did at club level.