Biography
Experienced defender John Egan joined the Tigers in January 2025 to add steel to Ruben Selles’ defensive line. His debut came a few days later against Burnley, his previous club, and as the season drew to a close he played important supporting role from the bench.
John Egan was born in Ireland’s second city Cork to a sporting family – his mother Mary was a football international and his father John played Gaelic football for Kerry. John himself played hurling and Gaelic football as well as representing junior football club Greenwood as a youngster. In July 2009 Egan moved to England and joined Premier League side Sunderland, progressing through the academy system and signing his first professional contract in July 2011. In November 2011 he was twice an unused substitute for Sunderland’s Premier League side and in January 2012 he joined Championship side Crystal Palace on a one month loan, making his senior debut in the FA Cup against Derby County and adding a second appearance later that month against Blackpool. In March 2012 he was on the move again, joining League One side Sheffield United on loan but only added one senior appearance against Walsall.
During the 2012/13 season Egan again struggled to break into Sunderland’s first team, having to settle for one League Cup tie when he was again an unused substitute. In November 2012 he joined League Two side Bradford City on a three month loan but after 4 appearances for the Bantams John sustained a broken leg that sidelined him for nearly a year. After rehabilitating in Sunderland’s reserves side, Egan was again loaned out to gain first team experience in March 2014, this time to League Two promotion contenders Southend United. John made 15 appearances for the Shrimpers, including two in the League Two play-off semi-final that saw Southend lose out to Burton Albion. In March 2014 he scored his first senior goal against Scunthorpe United.
In July 2014 John left Sunderland having not made a first team appearance for the Black Cats, joining League One side Gillingham on a two year contract. At Priestfield Egan quickly established himself as a first team stalwart, winning several player of the season awards as the Gills finished in mid-table and reached the Southern semi-finals of the EFL Trophy. He was handed the captain’s arm band for the 2015/16 season and continued to impress, though he missed two months of football in February and March 2016 due to injury. By the end of the season Egan had scored 11 goals for Gillingham in 92 appearances and refused a contract extension.
In July 2016 he instead chose to join Championship side Brentford where his progress continued apace, netting both goals in a victory over Ipswich Town in his second league start – although he spent the closing weeks of the season sitting on the Bees’ bench as they fell narrowly short of the play-off places. He captained the Brentford first team in the 2017/18 season and had scored seven goals in 71 appearances by the end of his second season at Griffin Park.
In July 2018 Egan joined Championship rivals Sheffield United for a fee reputed to be around £4 million. He missed only two league games during the 2018/19 season as the Blades finished second in the table and won promotion to the Premier League. Guided by the management of Chris Wilder, United thrived in their first top flight season with centre back Egan and his fellow defenders regularly rampaging forwards. He made his Premier League debut in August 2019 against Bournemouth and scored his first top flight goal against Burnley in July 2020, the end of the season having been delayed by the outbreak of the March 2020 COVID-19 pandemic.
Handed the captain’s armband in September 2020, Egan remained a first team regular as the Blades suffered typical second season syndrome and finished bottom of the Premier League table. John was a Championship ever-present in the 2021/22 season as Sheffield United qualified for the play-offs only to fall at the semi-final stage to Nottingham Forest after a penalty shootout. The Blades challenged again in the 2022/23 season under manager Paul Heckingbottom and won automatic promotion, Egan missing only one League game all season and captaining his side to the FA Cup semi-final where Premier League giants swotted them aside at Wembley Stadium. Back in the Premier League, Egan started the 2023/24 season in the first team until an October 2023 foot injury ended his season prematurely. He left the Blades in June 2024 having scored eight goals in 223 appearances across six seasons that featured two promotions to the Premier League.
In September 2024 free agent Egan joined Championship side Burnley and by January 2025 he had made 8 appearances for the Clarets. At the end of January 2025 he joined Hull City for a fee in the region of £250,000.
Egan attracted the eye of Ireland’s international selectors from a young age while playing in Cork for junior side Greenwood. He made 10 appearances for Ireland’s Under-16 team during the 2007/08 season while still 14 years of age, in the 2008/09 season he rose to the Under-17 side and scored one goal in 5 appearances. He made one appearance for Ireland Under-18s in October 2009, by which time he had already made a September 2009 debut for the Under-19 side against Portugal. Over the next two seasons Egan made 15 appearances for the Under-19 side, which culminated in July 2011 with four starts in the 2011 U19 European Championship finals played in Romania.
After a lengthy absence with a broken leg Egan returned to the international fold in May 2012 when he made the first of 6 appearances for Ireland’s Under-21 side against Denmark. The last of those Under-21 appearances came against Montenegro in March 2014 and it was three years before John returned to international action, winning his first senior cap in March 2017 against Iceland. For the next two seasons he was deployed as a squad player by his senior international side by in the 2019/20 season he won a more regular first eleven start. He scored his first senior goal for Ireland in September 2021 against Portugal, by which time he was captaining the side. He added two further goals in four September 2022 days against Scotland and Armenia and by September 2023 he had won the last of his 36 senior caps against Netherlands.
Details
Nationality: Ireland
Date/Place of Birth: 20 October 1992, Cork
Hull City First Game: 12 February 2025, Burnley A (Championship), 32 years, 115 days old
Hull City Final Game: [current player]
Clubs
Sunderland (2009-2014), Crystal Palace (2012, loan), Sheffield United (2012, loan), Bradford City (2012, loan), Southend United (2014, loan), Gillingham (2014-2016), Brentford (2016-2018), Sheffield United (2018-2024), Burnley (2024-2025), Hull City (2025-current)
Hull City Record
Career: 5 apps, 0 goals
John Egan| Season | LGE App | LGE Gls | FAC App | FAC Gls | FLC App | FLC Gls | EUR App | EUR Gls | OTH App | OTH Gls |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024/25 | 2 (3) | 0 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |