Sheffield United and Everton will share same Phil Jagielka feeling: View | OneFootball

Phil Jagielka is seen as a "legend" at both Sheffield United and Everton.

Highlights

Phil Jagielka will go down as a cult hero at both Everton and Sheffield United, due to his grit, determination and general outstanding defensive output.

Jagielka has had a fantastic career, and has had his most prominent spells at Everton and Sheffield United, where he has become a legend at both clubs.

Jagielka at Sheffield United

The Englishman came up through the Sheffield United youth system before making his debut against Swindon in 2000 during the final game of the Blades' season. Jagielka immediately impressed and was given a professional contract for Sheffield United the very next day.

The rest is history.

Jagielka's first spell at Sheffield United was littered with success, with the centre-back being a solid part of the Blades' backline for seven seasons.

During this time, Jagielka developed into a rock at the back for the South Yorkshire side, making his presence known throughout the league as a no-nonsense, traditional centre-half.

Jagielka's tenure at the heart of Sheffield United's defence will be most fondly remembered for his part in the club's promotion to the Premier League in 2006 under Neil Warnock.

Jagielka was even forced to go between the sticks on two separate occasions for the Blades during his time at the club, in games against Millwall and Arsenal, with both games ending in victory for the Blades.

Sweet spell at Toffees for Jagielka

After relegation the following season, Jagielka was sought after as he had impressed in the top flight, and was snapped up by David Moyes' Everton side.

The centre back truly epitomises the David Moyes era for the Toffees, which saw the Merseyside club hit a peak that they have not been able to find since.

After joining the Toffees for £4 million, the English centre-back had high expectations to live up to, after leaving the Blades in very high regard from fans of the club.

The England international spent 12 years at Goodison Park and became a staple of Moyes' Everton side, as well as making 40 appearances for England between 2006 and 2013, in a generation where England produced some of the greatest centre-backs the country has ever seen.

Jagielka not only made 386 appearances for the Toffees, but also managed to score 36 times in his long spell on Merseyside. At international level, he managed to score four times for an underachieving national side.

Though Jagielka operated primarily as a centre-back, he also found himself occupying roles in central midfield and right back when needed for Everton, with Moyes happy to experiment with playing the defender out of position.

Whilst injury tainted Jagielka's chances of gaining a place in Fabio Capello's 2010 World Cup squad, this did not stop interest coming from Arsene Wenger's Arsenal for two summers in a row (2010/11).

However, Moyes was intent on keeping the Englishman and turned down an eight-figure bid, and Jagielka maintained his place in the starting eleven until Moyes' departure to Manchester United in 2013.

Roberto Martinez was the man chosen to replace Moyes, and one of Martinez' first decisions in charge of Everton was to make Jagielka club captain. Again, the centre-back thrived.

Jagielka was picked alongside Leighton Baines for England's 2014 World Cup squad, and in the following season, scored with a rocket of a strike to nick a point against the Toffees' arch nemesis' Liverpool.

Jagielka became the first Everton player to captain England in a friendly against Lithuania, where the Three Lions wrapped up a 100% win record in qualifying for Euro 2016.

Jagielka went out of favour under Marco Silva and the current Fulham manager decided to sell Jagielka back to Sheffield United in 2019.

Return to the Steel City

On his return, Sheffield United fans were once again reminded why they loved the Englishman so dearly in his first spell with the club.

Though not playing every game in the league, Jagielka's consistency was something which was greatly admired throughout his late 30s.

Despite suffering with injuries throughout his second spell in South Yorkshire, the veteran centre back still managed to keep his performance levels to a high level.

"Legend" is an extremely overused term within the beautiful game, but Everton and Sheffield United fans will both agree that Jagielka is a player who warrants that level of terminology at both clubs respectfully.

It's rare to be so highly thought of at one club, so to have that at two, is testament to a fantastic career.