John Egan did “ok” during his first West Ham outing in a behind-closed-doors friendly against Dagenham and Redbridge on Thursday, according to ExWHUEmployee.
The Hammers have handed the Republic of Ireland international a trial to determine whether the club should hand the free agent a contract.
West Ham kept a clean sheet during the 6-0 win but, considering the standard of the opposition, that wasn’t much of a surprise. Fans on X are not particularly keen on signing Egan based on first impressions:
Let Casey be 4th choice
— Frank (@Stoney_111) September 5, 2024
So encouraging 😭
— Costia (@CostiaWHU) September 5, 2024
Yeah ok against Dagenham isn’t good enough.
Get Matip in.— Harry (@hazzwhu) September 5, 2024
Doing ok to me isn’t enough to give him a contract. Just let Casey keep the role, let Egan know if injuries come up they could reconsider. Doesn’t appear he’s got interest elsewhere if he’s doing a fitness test
— N9711C (@N97JC) September 5, 2024
No thanks to egan. Waste of money
— Crypto-Hammer (@Crypto_Hammer9) September 5, 2024
He did ok against Dagenham, rest of the league watch out for Egan
— whatwillbewillbe (@gsb75Efc) September 5, 2024
Egan is an emergency signing
If the 31-year-old’s move to the London Stadium is rubberstamped over the coming days, it won’t exactly be met with a lot of enthusiasm.
However, the club are in a tight spot, having failed to replace Kurt Zouma or Nayef Aguerd before both centre-backs left on loan.
Giving Egan a short-term deal is not the end of the world and it’s likely that fans will only see him in action in domestic cup games, unless there is an injury.
Why have West Ham decided against pursuing alternatives?
There have been reports that the Irons have offered a two-year contract to ex-Liverpool defender Joel Matip. However, a move for the Cameroon international has been effectively ruled out.
In addition to concerns about his fitness, the 33-year-old also has interest from several other Premier League teams.
