Afrigather It was within the first half of Molenbeek’s sport in opposition to Beveren in April of final yr that it occurred. Molenbeek’s greatest defender contested a duel with the opposition striker and emerged from it with a damaged nostril. The blood was streaming down his face.
“There was numerous it,” Jonathan Alves tells Sky Sports activities. Alves was Molenbeek’s assistant coach and feared the worst, for participant and staff. “This was first in opposition to second and we have been certain he was going to cease. It was unimaginable. However he simply cleaned himself off.”
Alves nonetheless remembers the second that this Irishman turned to the Belgian crowd and urged them to roar their help. “Inside minutes, he was delivering a prime efficiency. If you wish to know who Jake O’Brien is, simply watch that sport and see what he did.”
It feels just a little uncomfortable to reward such bravery when there would have been no disgrace in going off. However for these concerned, this was a defining second in Molenbeek’s title win. “An enormous sport, numerous stress? Let’s go. That’s my greatest reminiscence of Jake.”
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On the time, O’Brien’s achievements abroad have been not more than a curiosity to these Crystal Palace supporters following the fortunes of a participant signed from Cork Metropolis in 2021. On his return, he would depart for Lyon for a payment of round £1m and that was that.
However such has been O’Brien’s impression in his sole season in France that he’s returning to the Premier League as a £17m signing for Everton. Now 23, he’s prepared for the following part of his profession and people who have labored with him count on him to shine below Sean Dyche.
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Ben Garner explains what makes the ‘courageous as a lion’ O’Brien such a prospect
His first steps in English soccer got here on mortgage at Swindon City in League Two. Ben Garner, then supervisor of the Robins, had been at Palace himself. “I may choose folks’s brains there, not solely on him as a participant however his character,” Garner tells Sky Sports activities.
The studies have been of a towering younger defender who stood all of 6ft 6ins tall. “We have been on the lookout for a centre-half to offer us that aerial presence in each containers, significantly off set-plays, which we struggled with just a little bit as a result of we simply weren’t a giant facet.”
However there was extra to O’Brien than his top.
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Everton’s new defender Jake O’Brien speaks on his transfer from Lyon to the Toffees and the way excited he’s to make an impression at Goodison Park. Credit score: Everton FC.
“He needed to be somebody comfy on the ball who may construct assaults and Jake has bought these attributes. He got here in, courageous as a lion with the ball, fast, good athleticism for his dimension, clearly good within the air along with his body, and a very humble, decided lad.
An damage in direction of the top of that season slowed his progress just a little bit however the mortgage transfer to Belgium for the next season helped add extra to his sport. Inside a handful of coaching periods, it was apparent to Alves that he may make a distinction.
“You might instantly see the impression that he had on the staff. He was the very best defender within the league, little question, and by far. We knew that he could be a prime participant at worldwide stage. That league was too small for him but it surely was additionally a very good step.”
O’Brien in worldwide motion in opposition to Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo
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As at Swindon, his aerial prowess was excellent. As at Swindon, his former coach is eager to caveat the compliments about his physicality with a reminder that it comes with different qualities too. “He’s tall so he’s going to win all of the duels within the air,” says Alves.
“That’s regular, after all. However what’s explicit about him is that he may play with numerous area behind him as a result of he’s quick too. That is essential within the prime leagues. You should be comfy with area behind and he’s very comfy.
“For instance, groups usually hold an additional participant behind. If there may be one striker, you will go away two defenders and so forth. With Jake, that was not vital. One in opposition to one was sufficient to offer us the benefit. It was like we had two gamers there already.”
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Molenbeek usually dominated their matches that season, one wherein O’Brien featured 30 occasions. He relished it. “On the ball, he is excellent. When he’s build up below a excessive press, that’s not an issue for him. He’s not afraid to play. He can break the strains.”
There have been calls for on all of the staff that season, not solely to play at a excessive stage however accomplish that persistently. Promotion was the goal from the outset. Regardless of being a younger participant in a brand new nation, O’Brien took that problem in his stride, welcoming the accountability.
“The expectation was that the staff would do effectively. That brings stress, from the press, the followers and from the board. However one in every of his largest strengths is his mentality. He has a really excessive self-confidence, which is vital. He doesn’t care what folks assume.”
O’Brien examined himself in opposition to top-quality gamers for Lyon final season
That perspective served him effectively at Lyon, the place the circumstances upon his arrival have been dire. The seven-time French champions have been all-time low when he made his debut in October and nonetheless there as Christmas approached earlier than a spectacular turnaround.
O’Brien himself scored 4 targets, together with a late winner at Toulouse. Improbably, he was Lyon’s second-highest scorer behind Alexandre Lacazette. “I feel he can do even higher from set-pieces as a result of he’s tall, aggressive and reads the ball effectively,” says Alves.
Dyche’s Everton would possibly simply be the staff to unlock that individual potential. “I feel it’s a good pairing due to their mindset. The Premier League has been his aim because the begin and I feel he’s prepared for it. He’s assured however he’s humble sufficient to hear too.”
Garner shares that view.
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“I’ve been so happy to see what he has gone on and finished since, as a result of as I mentioned, he’s a very down-to-earth, hard-working and decided lad. I feel he has all of the instruments to go on and have a very profitable profession, as he’s displaying for the time being.
“I feel his development has in all probability been faster than anybody would have imagined but it surely simply goes to point out that in case you do get these selections proper when it comes to your loans and the strikes that you simply make, that surroundings can actually enable you to thrive fairly rapidly.”
There has simply been the odd bloody nostril to take care of alongside the best way.
