Spare a thought for Jake O’Brien.
Signed by Everton from Lyon for nearly £17million over the summer, the Republic of Ireland centre-back’s return to the Premier League was initially seen as the logical next step in a career seemingly on fast-forward.
Barely four months on, though, he is yet to make a Premier League start for his new club, fourth choice behind James Tarkowski, Jarrad Branthwaite and Michael Keane, and has played just 26 minutes of football in England’s top flight.
There have been two positive Carabao Cup appearances against League Two Doncaster Rovers of the fourth tier and Southampton, but O’Brien’s one and only league appearance to date came off the bench in the mid-September defeat at Aston Villa.
If last season with Lyon — 32 appearances and a Coupe de France final — continued his remarkable ascent, the spell at Goodison has only served to put the brakes on it, for club and country.
Cork-born O’Brien, 23, made his debut for Ireland in June against Hungary but has fallen down the pecking order since. Omitted from head coach Heimir Hallgrimsson’s squad for the Nations League double-header against Finland and Greece in October, it took an injury to club captain Seamus Coleman for him to be reinstated for this month’s internationals against England and Finland. It was not so long ago that he was being heralded as the future of the Republic’s defence.
O’Brien’s predicament has become the source of much focus and conjecture from Everton fans. To some, it seems odd that a club still carefully counting pennies would choose to commit an eventual £17million ($21.8m), albeit in a series of small instalments, on a fourth-choice centre-back while other areas of the field — full-back and wing among them — look light.
Yet his arrival at Goodison in late July was the product of a specific set of circumstances: Manchester United’s pursuit of Branthwaite, Ben Godfrey’s rejection of a new contract and subsequent sale to Italian side Atalanta to help meet profitability and sustainability regulations, Lyon owner John Textor’s interest in buying Everton and willingness to do a deal on the necessary terms — and Everton’s failure to secure targets elsewhere.
Coming off the back of an impressive season in France, O’Brien was seen by Everton’s recruitment staff as someone ready to contribute straight away, but also with the potential to establish himself as a consistent, high-level performer in the Premier League.
With a glut of other clubs tracking him in England and abroad — Nottingham Forest and Atalanta were two known admirers who made a play for his signature — summer was seen as the last chance to snare a long-term target for a manageable sum before his value potentially rocketed.
At the same time, Everton’s recruitment team had struggled to make headway elsewhere. They wanted Wilfried Gnonto, another long-term target, to strengthen their wing options but Leeds United played hardball for the second successive summer. In the end, they chose to commit money on a player in O’Brien that they wanted, rather than someone lower down their list elsewhere. The price was deemed sensible, with minimal upfront payment so as to adhere to Everton’s strict financial parameters.
It was envisaged that this season would be one of adaptation and integration for O’Brien at Goodison. Tarkowski and Branthwaite would largely be the first-choice pairing, but with Godfrey sold there would be opportunities for him to acclimatise to being back in England after stints in Belgium and France. The No 3 spot was initially seen as his to lose.
But O’Brien has undoubtedly been a victim of circumstance. Nobody — not even those at the club — would have predicted Keane’s resurgence, even under a manager in Sean Dyche who knows him better than most.
Keane, who played for Dyche at Burnley, has retained his faith despite notable blips and improved on last season’s form. Dyche is a conservative manager who values what he knows, and he trusts Keane. It would take O’Brien, or indeed any new signing, a long period of time to get to the same position in his manager’s eyes.
O’Brien has had to bide his time and be patient. He has made a positive impression in training but has been reminded that he is only right at the start of his time at Everton. There has been significant interest already, including from France where he excelled last season, in taking him on loan in January, but the plan at present is for him to keep developing at Goodison.
“Jake’s been very patient,” Dyche said last month. “He’s going to have to be because he’s got three very, very good, very experienced centre-halves there. He knows he’s learning all the time and training very well. If they’re not ready for the Premier League, you can really hurt players, so we are trying to build them in and get them there when they are ready.
“Jarrad’s situation was similar but different. He’d been away on loan (at PSV Eindhoven in the Netherlands) and done well, then came back in and was injured initially but then did very well.
“He (O’Brien) is probably at that stage, looking at them as very experienced Premier League players and learning from them. The Premier League is quicker and stronger. The mileage is different. It’s dealing with the grandeur of the games and the mental side of what Everton Football Club is. That’s all part of the learning curve.
“I’ve spoken to him about it all. He’s here for the long view and his time will come.”
O’Brien will hope chances come sooner rather than later.
(Top photo: Julian Finney/Getty Images)
