West Ham eye free agent amid Burnley, Scott Parker delays | OneFootball

John Egan is supposedly a target for West Ham United.

John Egan is a target for West Ham United amid ongoing delays over a potential move to join Scott Parker's Burnley.

This is according to Sky Sports' Dharmesh Sheth, who confirmed the news earlier broken by a reliable Hammers source ExWHUEmployee.

Aged 31, Egan left Sheffield United upon the expiry of his contract after a successful six-year stint with the Blades in which he made over 200 league appearances.

Now coming towards the twilight of his career, a move to West Ham may represent his last chance to play Premier League football.

Such an offer will indeed be tempting, but he knows that a move to the London Stadium could result in limited game time. On the other hand, at Burnley, he is likely to see more regular football, making the Clarets an appealing option.

John Egan transfer latest

As stated earlier in the piece, Egan is believed to be a target for the Hammers as they look to bring in cover for their defence, following the departure of Kurt Zouma and Nayef Aguerd.

It is also understood that Julen Lopetegui is keen on former Liverpool defender, Joel Matip.

However, the Cameroonian ruptured his Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) last December, so it remains to be seen whether he will return to full fitness.

This could make Egan a more shrewd option, but they’ll face competition from Championship side Burnley. Last month, reports suggested he was close to joining the Clarets and that Parker was keen to add him to his squad but with no further developments since, hopes of him signing in Lancashire have dwindled.

Prior to that, Football Insider confirmed that Egan had been training with Burnley. It's possible the coaches at the club weren’t convinced by what they saw from the Irishman, or perhaps lingering fitness concerns from his Achilles injury are still holding him back.

While a slow return to fitness isn't ideal, at West Ham he can be afforded more time with the Irons having a set central defensive partnership of Max Kilman and either Jean-Clair Todibo or Konstantinos Mavropanos.

Missing out on Egan is acceptable for Burnley

At the height of his fitness, it would seem like a sure deal for Burnley to try and secure Egan on a contract. But, with the Achilles injury keeping the 36-cap international out since last September, it would take a while for him to return to full match fitness.

For Parker, he wouldn't want to thrust a player into the limelight who isn't ready and, for that reason, steering away from Egan is a safer option.

Having been busy in the transfer window, they also have a whole host of options in central defence. CJ Egan Riley, Maxime Esteve, and Joe Worrall have shared the defensive duties between them in the main, but even on the bench, they have the options of Bashir Humphreys and Hannes Delcroix.

Overall, Burnley's squad appears well-balanced, so disrupting it with a player who isn't assured of regular game time doesn't make much sense.