Jake O’Brien. was hailed by Everton as one of Europe’s most promising defenders when he arrived in the summer but, on Monday night, he was representing the U21s in his search for a game
News of the breakthrough emerged as Everton were in Salford. It was a pre-season fixture that ended in defeat but was tinged with hope.
One young Blue, Youssef Chermiti, continued his good start to the summer by winning a dangerous free-kick minutes after his introduction. James Garner scored from it.
Harrison Armstrong, the 17-year-old who has since made his Premier League debut and earned an England call-up, stepped into senior football for the first time.
And the headline in the summer sunshine was the impending arrival of another promising young player after the Blues reached an agreement with Lyon over Jake O’Brien.
The defender, who had been on Everton’s radar as he rose to prominence in France, felt like an easy win for his new club.
An international with the Republic of Ireland, the 23-year-old felt like the natural choice to be the new third choice centre-back and perhaps either a future partner of, or successor to, Everton’s most high-profile starlet – Jarrad Branthwaite. Put simply, there were potential dividends in the short and long term and the decision to commit up to £17m – even if not all at once – despite the club’s precarious financial position felt like a statement of intent.
It still could be – it still may be. But O’Brien’s Everton career, so far, has not played out how most expected it to.
Four months later a player whose final act for Lyon was to score against Kylian Mbappe’s PSG in the final of the Coupe de France spent Monday night among the Under-21s playing Watford at the ground of Southern Football League side Kings Langley.
There was no immediate sign that would be the case. O’Brien arrived to fanfare and excitement. Hailed by Everton on arrival as “one of Europe’s most talented young defenders,” both the player and director of football Kevin Thelwell pointed to Sean Dyche’s oversight of Branthwaite’s breakthrough campaign as evidence of why Finch Farm was the best destination for a sought-after prospect.
Club captain and Republic of Ireland teammate Seamus Coleman was also influential and, days later, O’Brien was posing for selfies on the pitch at Preston North End after coming off the bench and scoring in a pre-season rout at Deepdale.
But after featuring in the final friendly, at home to Roma, O’Brien’s opportunities have all but stopped.
Even amid a defensive crisis the gap did not open up for him. He remained on the bench at Tottenham Hotspur as Dyche chose to give a first start to young right-back Roman Dixon rather than reshuffle his pack in a manner that could have seen him use the more experienced O’Brien.
“When the transfer window opened there were other clubs in for me but there was only one club I wanted to go to – it was Everton”, O’Brien said after signing. “They’ve shown the faith in me so now it’s my turn to show why on the pitch.”
Those opportunities, save for some starts in the Carabao Cup, have not yet come.
With Branthwaite injured, Ben Godfrey having been sold before his arrival, and Mason Holgate departing on loan, O’Brien instead watched Michael Keane emerge as Dyche’s preferred back-up. Dyche persisted with Keane alongside James Tarkowski even as Everton shipped 13 goals across four defeats at the start of the season.
At Leicester City, Dyche chose to persist with Tarkowski, whose training was being handled carefully due to injury, and Keane, who had a dead leg, rather than turn to O’Brien. The towering goalscoring centre-back’s only minutes in the Premier League have so far been in a cameo at Aston Villa, despite Everton struggling to defend set-pieces and score from them.
Keane has earned his place. Like Ashley Young, he has overcome a tough start to the campaign to find redemption and even celebration as the season has worn on – while results have remained troubling, Everton have become far stronger at the back.
But the trajectory of Dyche’s centre-back plans have led to more questions than answers as O’Brien, like right-back Nathan Patterson, has had to be patient on the sidelines and, while doing so, lost his international place. O’Brien only found a route back during the last international break after injury dropouts from the senior squad.
And against that backdrop – as Everton have struggled for goals, creativity and at full-back – some have questioned the logic of spending what little cash may have been available on a player who Dyche has repeatedly praised but not yet graced with serious opportunities. With Branthwaite now back after his injury struggles, Tarkowski appearing to have fought through his issues and Keane justified if he is watching from the bench with frustration after his impact this season, it is tough to see that changing this season.
Asked about O’Brien earlier in the campaign, Dyche gave this verdict: “Jake’s been very patient, he’s going to have to be because he’s got three very, very good, very experienced centre-halves there, but he’s one that knows he’s learning all the time. I think he’s been training very well.”
It is not unusual for Dyche to take a cautious approach to players he views as lacking Premier League experience. He places a high value on those with knowledge of the challenges posed by the most-watched league in the world – hence his faith in the likes of Young, Keane and Dwight McNeil.
Adding depth to his view on this, Dyche explained there is a danger, he believes, of “hurting” a player by introducing them at the wrong time and added: “It’s everything, the Premier League is quicker, it’s stronger, it all goes into the melting pot – there is the mental side, it’s dealing with all the games, the grandeur of all the games and of Everton Football Club. It is all of those things, they’re all part of their learning curve, it is not just on the pitch, it is everything that’s involved in it.”
So for now, O’Brien may have to bide his time. With Keane out of contract in the summer and Branthwaite expected to be the subject of heavy interest again, the dream stated when he signed – of playing a key role in Everton’s bright new future – remains a distinct possibility.
“I spoke to him about it,” Dyche said. “He’s here for the longer view, he’s on a four-year contract, but he’ll be learning, he’ll be looking at it and seeing it, he’s had a couple of games as well, so his time will come.”
