Up until mid-January, Jake O’Brien must have been wondering why he had signed for Everton.
The 23-year-old centre-back was signed from Lyon in the summer for £17 million but didn’t start a single Premier League game under Everton’s previous manager Sean Dyche.
Before his exit, Dyche cited competition for places as the reason O’Brien was yet to start in the Premier League.
“Jake’s been very patient,” said Dyche back in December.
“He’s going to have to be because he’s got three very, very good centre-halves there.”
Considering Everton’s precarious financial situation over the last few years, O’Brien’s absence from the first team left many Evertonians puzzled.
It was difficult to understand why the club had invested such a substantial amount of money in a player that had barely featured.
In light of Dyche’s departure in early January, Patrick Boyland of The Athletic reported that the recruitment team at Everton were just as surprised and confused as supporters at O’Brien’s lack of game time under Dyche.
Headed by Director of Football Kevin Thelwell, Everton’s recruitment team saw O’Brien as a player who could contribute this season and develop into a key player in the future.
Dislodging the centre-back partnership of James Tarkowski and Jarrad Branthwaite, who together kept 15 clean sheets last season, was always going to be difficult.
O’Brien may have thought his opportunity would have come at the start of this season when Branthwaite was injured.
But Dyche instead opted to play Michael Keane next to Tarkowski.
At Lyon, O’Brien was also initially signed as defensive cover from Crystal Palace.
However, with Lyon embroiled in a relegation battle during the first half of last season and pressure building from Lyon ultras, O’Brien got his chance and took it.
From October onwards, the Irishman grew into his role at centre-back, becoming a pillar of the Lyon defence as the club went on to qualify for the Europa League.
O’Brien was particularly outstanding in the final of the Coup de France against PSG, scoring a headed goal and deftly marking Kylian Mbappé as Lyon succumbed to a 2-1 defeat.
After such an impressive breakout campaign in France, O’Brien could be forgiven for expecting to play more under Dyche.
“I knew it wouldn’t be easy to play games, but I thought I would have played a lot more than I did,” O’Brien recently told the Liverpool Echo.
Since the return of Moyes, O’Brien has been given the opportunity to play a run of games, not at centre-back, but as an auxiliary right-back.
Everton were beaten 0-1 by Aston Villa in Moyes’ first game back with Ashley Young starting at right-back, who O’Brien replaced in the 83rd minute.
Moyes then started O’Brien at right-back in the next game, a 3-2 victory over Tottenham Hotspur, and O’Brien hasn’t looked back since.
Since making the right-back berth his own, O’Brien has been part of an Everton team that are unbeaten in seven games in the Premier League, winning four.
It is not the first time that Moyes has deployed a natural centre-back at full-back.
During his first spell at the club, Moyes used Joleen Lescott at left-back, whose physical qualities made him an affective option out wide.
“Quite often, young centre-backs have to find their way out as full-backs.” Moyes, a former centre-back who started at full-back himself, told the Liverpool Echo.
O’Brien’s size, speed and strength mean he is comfortable defending one on one in wide areas of the pitch.
The 6ft 6in Irishman also offers Everton an excellent out ball from the back, with Moyes increasingly utilising O’Brien as an outlet from goal kicks.
O’Brien’s aerial ability makes him important for defending crosses and set pieces, as well as making him a threat when attacking them, as highlighted by the five goals he scored for Lyon last season.
These qualities, combined with an adeptness on the ball and a developing capacity to get forward to provide crosses, make O’Brien a viable option at right-back.
The placement of O’Brien’s diving header against Brentford, his first goal for the Toffees, was an example of the defender’s goal-scoring potential.
The fact that O’Brien was even in the box to get on the end of Vitali Mykolenko’s cross shows the attacking licence that Moyes has granted O’Brien, as he continues to learn about the intricacies of his new role.
Awarded player of the match in the 1-1 draw against Brentford, as well as his equaliser, O’Brien made three tackles, nine clearances, won five aerial duels and had a passing accuracy of 80%.
When asked about adapting to his new position, O’Brien told the Echo: “It is different, but I am growing into it, I am learning more about it, and all the coaches and Moyes have been very good at explaining how they want me to play.”
Despite O’Brien’s swift acclimation to playing right-back, Moyes still believes that O’Brien’s future is at the heart of the defence.
“We are not trying to make him an out-and-out right-back.” Moyes said of O’Brien, speaking to the Liverpool Echo. “Jake is obviously a centre-back with some really good attributes including speed and he is very good on the ball.”
The arrival of Moyes has liberated O’Brien and Evertonians will hope that the Irishman continues to flourish.
Regardless of whether O’Brien blooms at right-back or centre-half, Moyes deserves credit for bringing him in from the cold and into the sunshine.
(Featured image under agreed licence from Alamy)
