West Ham United January move for John Egan could see centre-half pair exit London Stadium
West Ham United are reportedly lining up a January move for Sheffield United defender John Egan – and that could mean Angelo Ogbonna or Craig Dawson exit the club.
The Sun reported (10 September) that the Hammers could lodge a £12million January bid for the 29-year-old Republic of Ireland defender.
David Moyes currently has five central defenders at his disposal, with Nayef Aguerd, Kurt Zouma and Thilo Kehrer his other options to call upon.
If the Hammers signed Egan and when Aguerd is fit, the Scot would have six defenders vying for two places in his 4-2-3-1 formation or three spaces in a three-at-the-back system.
Ultimately, having six central defenders is too many and it could take up valuable space in Moyes’ squad, which could be utilised elsewhere by the West Ham boss.
Ogbonna is now 34, and more than likely doesn’t have a long-term future at the club and should Moyes add Egan to his defensive options, an exit for the veteran Italian could well be on the cards.
32-year-old Dawson saw his deadline day exit to Wolverhampton Wanderers collapse after the Hammers failed to land a replacement.
West Ham being linked with another defender already surely indicates that Moyes is preparing for a potential departure in defence.
Egan would be a good rotation player or the Hammers to call upon should they manage to land the 29-year-old. Furthermore, he is slightly younger and in the prime of his career, unlike Dawson and Ogbonna.
With news of the interest in Egan, Dawson will almost certainly leave the club in January and it wouldn’t be a surprise to see Ogbonna follow him.