Skipper John Egan addresses Sheffield United future ahead of contract expiry as new deal deadline set
John Egan set to become free agent next month as Sheffield United conversations continue
John Egan, the Sheffield United skipper, is placing his full focus on getting back fit for the start of pre-season this summer - admitting that discussions about his future are “above his head.” The Irishman is out of contract at the end of this month, with discussions ongoing about potentially staying at Bramall Lane.
United are keen to see how he recovers from his season-ending Achilles injury, while the situation has been complicated by talk that two unnamed Premier League clubs are interested in signing Egan on a free transfer this summer. United are already short defensively after the free-transfer departures of George Baldock and Chris Basham, while Mason Holgate has also returned to Everton after his loan spell ended.
Losing Egan, whose season ended prematurely in September after a bad Achilles injury sustained in defeat away at West Ham, as well would further harm United, both from a playing and character perspective. But for now Egan, who recently posted images on social media of him back on the grass at United’s Shirecliffe training base, is focusing purely on his finess rather than his future.
“Where I stand is making sure I'm fully fit for pre-season,” he said. “Those talks are going on in the background, they are above my head. For the last few months now, I've just been gearing myself towards getting fully fit for pre-season. I'm in a great place now and doing a lot of work with United and the staff. That's been at the forefront of my mind, getting back fully fit.”
Asked about the Premier League interest following United’s relegation from the top-flight, Egan added: “Most of these things are out of my hands. As a player, all I can do is focus on getting my body up to speed. The talks will be going on in the background and when the time comes, when there is an offer or a decision to be made, everything gets weighed up.
“My main goal now is to keep going with my training and keep working really hard. When the time comes when a decision has to be made, a decision will be made. Ideally I would like to have something sorted soon, but as I have said before, these talks are going on in the background and as a player all I can do now is make sure I recover from this injury 100 per cent and keep striving really hard to put myself in the best shape possible for pre-season.”