Marco Silva is planning a January swoop for Sheffield United defender, John Egan, according to The Sun on Sunday (via Sports Mole).
Reportedly, the Merseyside club are looking to tempt the 27-year-old from Bramall Lane to Goodison Park (via Sports Mole).
However, the Irishman may prove difficult to pry from Chris Wilder’s hands as he will still have two-and-a-half years left on his contract with the Blades come January (per Sheffield United).
Staggering first season in the Premier League
It is fair to say that the form of the Blades upon their return to England’s top flight has turned the heads of many and proved any doubters wrong (per Daily Mail).
The Bramall Lane club currently sit fifth in the Premier League table (per BBC), with centre-back a key position in the successes of Wilder’s team. Therefore, United will be even more unlikely to let their first-team centre-back leave mid-season due to the difficulty of finding a replacement in January.
TiF Tactics – How does Egan compare?
Centre-back will be a key area for Everton’s Portuguese gaffer to reinforce during the winter window, due to only having three senior options in that position (per Transfermarkt).
With only Yerry Mina, Michael Keane and Mason Holgate to choose from currently, Egan would be a welcomed addition to Merseyside.
The undisputed star of the Toffees backline is Colombian centre-back, Mina, who arrived at Goodison Park from Barcelona in the summer of 2018 for £27 million (per BBC).
Egan, who is two years the senior of Silva’s 25-year-old centre-back, has featured in every Premier League game for United so far this term, picking up a solid 7.03/10 average rating for the season (per Whoscored).
Therefore, the Irishman has performed slightly better than the Toffees’ Colombian this season, as Mina has picked up an average of 6.96/10 (via Whoscored).
Should Egan, who is valued at £6.3m (Transfermarkt), be able to quickly adapt to a four-back formation, he could make a mean pairing with Mina, however, the difficulty will be in securing his services – which is doubtful at best.