Jake O’Brien departed Crystal Palace for Ligue 1 side Lyon, during the summer transfer window for a fee estimated to be in the region of £1million.
So far, the 22-year-old has made just one appearance for the French side, starting in their 2-0 defeat this weekend against Will Still’s Reims. However, his debut saw him become the first Irish player to play in Ligue 1 since Tony Cascarino, 23 years ago. On debut, O’Brien played in a back three, which plays to his strengths as he is strong on the ball, enjoys playing long forward passes and is solid defensively.
O’Brien joined Palace from Cork City, initially on loan in the 2020/21 season, after graduating through the academy. At the end of the season, Palace opted to make the move permanent after his successful spell with the Palace academy which included gaining promotion to the Premier League 2 Division 1.
O’Brien then spent the first half of the 2021/22 season with the academy making 14 appearances, keeping one clean sheet, scoring once and playing over 1,200 minutes. Additionally, in the EFL Trophy, O’Brien captained the side to a 2-0 victory against AFC Wimbledon’s senior team.
After a successful start to the season O’Brien was rewarded with a loan to League 2 side Swindon Town. He made 20 appearances (16 starts) assisting with achieving the play-offs. Unfortunately, they lost the second leg of the semi finals on penalties but nonetheless, it certainly was a successful spell out on loan. During that season, O’Brien was also a mainstay in the Ireland U21’s squad who narrowly missed out on qualification for the U21’s Euros.
On returning to Palace, the club sourced another loan, this time to Palace’s sister club RWD Molenbeek (owned by Eagle Football Holdings). O’Brien enjoyed yet another successful season making 30 League Appearances (28 starts) presiding over 20 wins and sealing promotion to the Belgian Pro League.
After a league-winning season, Jake O’Brien spent this years pre-season with the Palace first team including joining the squad on tour in the USA. During pre-season, O’Brien made 5 appearances for Palace playing 209 minutes, scoring once, keeping four clean sheets all whilst showing some real promise.
However, the week that the Palace squad returned from their tour of the United States, O’Brien and his team met with the club’s hierarchy to discuss the player’s options for the season.
O’Brien had numerous offers on the table, both loans and permanents but it was decided that the best path was a sale. This sale came within the Eagle Football Network to Lyon. However, sources close to the deal have confirmed that Palace do have a sell-on clause but not a buy-back clause. The percentage of the sell-on clause is not currently known.
Palace fans certainly regard this move as a strange transfer. Selling a centre back who has first team potential for a low sum. However, the fact he is still within the network of clubs and Palace have a sell on clause does make the move make that bit more sense.
