Leeds United are interested in a deal to bring John Egan to Elland Road over the remainder of the summer transfer window.
What's the talk?
That's according to a recent Charlie Parker-Turner report for the Daily Express, in which the journalist claimed that, with Jesse Marsch currently having a number of defenders ruled out as a result of injury, the Whites are looking to bring in greater depth at the back over the coming 24 hours - with the Sheffield United centre-back believed to have been identified as a target by the Premier League side.
The report goes on to state that, with the 29-year-old's current contract at Bramall Lane set to expire in the summer of 2024, Leeds believe that they stand a good chance of being able to prise the Republic of Ireland international away from the Championship side prior to Thursday's transfer deadline.
Parker-Turner summed up his report in a post on Twitter, with the journalist stating: "Leeds are interested in signing Sheffield United defender John Egan. There is no bid on the table at this stage though."
Marsch badly needs him
Considering just how consistent Egan has been for Sheffield United in recent years, coupled with Leeds United's current centre-back options not exactly boasting the best injury record, it would very much appear as if a player in the 29-year-old's mould is just the type of player Jesse Marsch needs in his backline.
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Indeed, over his 46 Championship appearances for the Blades last season - a campaign in which Egan played every available minute - the £6.3m-rated talent highly impressed, helping his side keep 20 clean sheets, in addition to making an average of 1.1 interceptions, 0.9 tackles, 4.0 clearances and winning 5.6 duels - at a success rate of 60% - per game.
The £26k-per-week defender also caught the eye going forwards, scoring two goals, registering two assists and creating three big chances for his teammates, as well as taking an average of 0.9 shots and completing 4.7 long balls per fixture.
These returns saw the player who Oisin Langan dubbed "unreal" average a SofaScore match rating of 7.01, ranking him as United's seventh-best performer in the second tier of English football last time out.
As such, with Egan quite clearly being extremely solid at the back, a threat when going forwards and an incredibly reliable player to be able to call upon, it would indeed appear as if the 29-year-old is exactly the type of player Marsch would love to welcome to Elland Road this summer - leading us to believe that Orta must do all he can to land the Irishman in the next 24 hours.