"Top end of the Championship" - Leeds United urged to sign free agent linked with Burnley, West Ham | OneFootball

Leeds United's FLW fan pundit has outlined John Egan as one of the free agents that the club should be looking at.

This article is part of Football League World's 'Terrace Talk' series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…

Leeds United had to navigate a difficult transfer window but ended it well with eight new faces through the door at Elland Road and Whites Leeds fans will hope that they have the required depth, quality, and output in their ranks to mount another promotion push.

Despite the fact Leeds have had a thorough pruning of the squad, they could still look to add new faces. There still remain multiple free agents available that they could also sign if the club's resources are stretched thin until January.

John Egan is one player who has been a target for West Ham United amid ongoing delays over a potential move to join Scott Parker's Burnley, according to Sky Sports' Dharmesh Sheth, who confirmed the news broken by a reliable Hammers source, ExWHUEmployee.

The experienced defender is of interest to other sides at present and was first linked with a move to Turf Moor via Alan Nixon, who claimed that the Clarets are considering a move for the Republic of Ireland international, following his departure from the Blades earlier this summer.

Football Insider confirmed that Egan had been training with Burnley and reports suggested he was close to joining the Clarets and that Parker was keen to add him to his squad. There have been no further developments since, and the 31-year-old could still sign for Championship sides after leaving Bramall Lane, where he made 224 appearances.

Leeds United urged to consider a move for John Egan

FLW’s Leeds United fan pundit Kris Smith spoke to us and outlined that Egan would be one of his top choices if Leeds were to dip into the free agency market.

He said: "After the transfer window shut, it's hard to see many free agents that are available that are also worth Leeds' time, to be honest.

"Whether that be because of all the injuries that they've suffered, their age, their fitness levels, or just the lack of quality.

"I don't think there are many from the list of free agents that I've seen that really jump out, who we should be looking at signing. "But there are a few positions, in my opinion, where Leeds look quite short. I would say centre-half, central midfield — mainly in attacking midfield, and then up front as well. "In terms of centre-half, that's where you could add someone as a free agent and probably get away with it in terms of depth behind Joe Rodon. "The one that sticks out to me is the former Sheffield United man, John Egan. He has had a lot of problems with injuries, including that major achilles injury that he got a year ago. "He still hasn't totally recovered from that, but he would be more than worth signing up as someone to just have in the squad. "Given his experiences in a promotion race, where he has two under his belt at Bramall Lane. I think, at 31, there is still a lot of life in him and his career. "West Ham were taking a look at him, and it suggests that he can't be that far off being ready to play. He would be really good back up for us behind Joe Rodon. "The knock-on effect is that Egan would also help add to our midfield depth as well, by keeping Ethan Ampadu in that role instead of as Rodon's primary cover. "He can definitely play at the top end of the Championship, as he has proven at Sheffield United.

"Ipswich proved last season that a free agent defender, even with their injuries, is not a bad way to go; they signed Axel Tuanzebe on a free and he was good for them and he actually played a lot of football."

The potential impact and benefits of signing John Egan

In signing Egan, the Irishman would bring maturity to the side, as he is a leader on the pitch. Smith is correct to point out how Egan resolves two separate issues by adding depth at centre-back, thus seeing Ampadu operate more in midfield.

As a free agent, the club would not have to break the bank to secure his services, and Leeds are not well stocked at centre-back, with Max Wober the primary senior cover. He, like Pascal Struijk, is left-footed. Leeds have James Debayo and Ampadu as the right-footed cover to Rodon.

The fact he's a free agent makes him an even more attractive player to bring in. Leeds could do much worse than to offer him a deal if Daniel Farke feels the Irishman could be a key part of his plans, especially given how young the majority of Leeds' backline is, too.