Sheffield United star John Egan will captain the Republic of Ireland in tonight's international friendly against Bulgaria at the Aviva Stadium.
In what will be just his fifth senior international cap, the 26-year-old will wear the armband as Mick McCarthy's side take on the 60th ranked side in the world.
Egan's late father is Kerry GAA legend John Egan Sr, who won six All-Irelands and nine Munster Championships during his time as a player with the Kingdom.
Egan himself was raised in Cork City, and spoke at a press conference this week about his split GAA loyalties between the county he was raised in and that of his father.
He attended the drawn All-Ireland final between Dublin and Kerry in-person on September 1st.
The defender is enjoying his debut season in the Premier League and played the full game as Sheffield United drew 2-2 with Chelsea recently at Stamford Bridge.
CONFIRMED | @JohnEgan92 will captain Ireland tonight for #IRLBUL 🇮🇪🇧🇬 pic.twitter.com/SaRoxZSet6
— FAIreland ⚽️🇮🇪 (@FAIreland) September 10, 2019
Egan is one of four Blades players in Mick McCarthy's Irish squad, with David McGoldrick, Callum Robinson, and Enda Stevens also involved at international level.
McGoldrick, who scored the late equaliser against Switzerland in our Euro 2020 qualifier last Thursday, and his fellow striker Callum Robinson have both returned to their club with knocks.
Enda Stevens meanwhile will be suspended for the Republic's crucial Euro qualifier away to Georgia on October 12th, and so McCarthy has opted for an experiment with Aston Villa's Conor Hourihane at left-back for tonight's game at Lansdowne Road.
There are set to be a number of changes to the Irish team for tonight's game against Bulgaria, with strikers Scott Hogan and James Collins both set to feature at some stage.
Captain Egan was signed as a teenager by then-Premier League Sunderland and was part of an Irish youth set-up that included Jeff Hendrick, Shane Duffy, and Robbie Brady.
He has also spent time on loan at various clubs, including Crystal Palace, Bradford City, and Southend United.
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