Sheffield United defender relishing a battle with Brighton frontman Neal Maupay

Chris Basham challenges Neal Maupay of Brentford during the Sky Bet Championship match at the Griffin Park Stadium, London. David Klein/Sportimage

The Irish defender is a former team mate of Maupay's at Brentford and he knows all too well the challenge facing him when they travel to the AMEX.

Those Blades at the back, in particular, will have to be on their guard as they try to stifle the Frenchman who has scored seven goals in 17 appearances since his £20 million move from Griffin Park.

Maupay had been linked to a move to United, as Chris Wilder sought to bolster his frontline for the Premier League and Egan is gearing up to be reacquainted with the 23-year-old this weekend.

John Egan of Sheffield United: Simon Bellis/Sportimage

“I played with Neal at Brentford so I was up against him day-in, day-out and I played against Brentford a couple of times last season when I moved here,” said Egan.

“Neal's a fantastic player - he's started brilliant at Brighton and I'm really happy for him but it's up to me on Saturday to do the business and it'll be a good battle as it always has been.

Egan added: “I'm sure we'll catch up after the game. For that 90 minutes it's all systems go and it's trying to get three points for Sheffield United.”

Despite United impressing, Egan is still not taking anything for granted as the Blades head to the south coast.

“We really feel like we belong here. You can see that from our performances. We have a long way to go and its up to us to try and improve even more.”