Sheffield United are currently defying all the odds in their first season back in the Premier League and are a well and truly in the race for European football.
The Blades have been a breath of fresh air in the league with their fast, fluid football that incorporates overlapping centre backs to give themselves an advantage in wide areas.
At the heart of this back three is John Egan, who has been the rock and organiser at the heart of the defence.
Egan, along with the rest of the defence and goalkeeper, have been simply superb, especially for a newly promoted side, racking up eleven clean sheets so far.
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Destined to play sport
Born in Cork, Ireland, Egan is the son of former Kerry Gaelic footballer legend John Egan Senior, in addition to this his mother Mary was also a footballer and has earned herself a League of Ireland medal.
So it was clear from a early age that John was going to play sport of some kind. Initially playing hurling and Gaelic football for Bishopstown, he later came through the ranks in football at Greenwood and then Sunderland.
Egan made his professional debut after being loaned out to Crystal Palace but had several more loan spells after that, including his current side, Sheffield United, in 2012 but only making one appearance.
After a loan spell at Bradford, Egan was loaned out to Southend United who were playing in League 2, scoring one goal in his time there.
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Egan starts to make a name for himself
After multiple loan spells, Egan eventually cemented himself as a centre half at Gillingham who were in League 1 in 2014.
In his debut season with the Gills, he won player of the year after playing 52 games in the season and scoring five goals.
The following season ended in the same way with Egan being named in the League 1 team of the season after impressing again.
These two seasons resulted in Egan being signed by Championship side Brentford in 2016.
Egan played two seasons at Brentford, captaining the side in his second and scoring six goals in his 67 appearances. It was during this time that Egan made his debut for the Republic of Ireland, starting in a friendly against Iceland in 2017.
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Sheffield United come calling
At this time, Chris Wilder was in his second season at the Blades, off the back of their first season back in Championship in which they finished 10th. However, Wilder felt that they needed to shore up the defence and the newly-capped Irish international was the man to do this.
At the time of signing it was a undisclosed club-record fee for the Blades so the pressure was on for Egan to justify his price tag.
It was a season to remember for the Blades as they finished second and returned to the Premier League after a twelve-year absence.
Egan more than justified his price tag, adding Championship experience to the defence and helped goalkeeper Dean Henderson achieve the Golden Glove that season, earning 21 clean sheets.
His performances caught the eye of his national side and manager Mick McCarthy handed the captain's armband to Egan against Bulgaria in September 2019.
On the pitch but also off the pitch, Egan made himself into a cult legend at Bramall Lane. At the player of the year award night, on the day that promotion was confirmed for the Blades, Egan took the microphone and addressed the room at large.
“If you go to a pub in Ireland, you have to have a song,” he said.
"If you don’t have a song, you may as well not go to a pub at all. In January, I said to my better half, ‘I have got a song’. I said, ‘We are going to the Premier League, and when we get to the Premier League, I’m going to sing this song.”
He then proceeded to sing his version of Allez Allez Allez.
🎶 ”ALLEZ, ALLEZ, ALLEZ” 🎶
— Sheffield United (@SheffieldUnited) April 29, 2019
John Egan with an absolute belter 🇮🇪#SUFC 🔴pic.twitter.com/LLXf1UA4Ek
Egan, as well as the rest of the players at Sheffield United, have made themselves known across the world with their performances this season in the Premier League. Egan got his first Premier League goal on Sunday against Burnley to complete the full set with a emphatic finish at the back post which he described as showing 'a strikers instinct from a centre half'. Egan paid tribute to his late father in his celebration.
With Sheffield United very much in the hunt for Europe with five games to go, it may just be their defence that sees them over the line to make history for the football club. Going forward, Egan is capable of being part of this side for years to come. At the age of 27, he still has plenty of time to achieve more.