David Moyes took just 83 minutes to hint at game-changing Everton transfer plan
Matt C Jones
5 – 6 minutes
Jake O’Brien has excelled as a right-back for the Blues – but the Irishman could be set to follow a similar path
BRENTFORD, ENGLAND – FEBRUARY 26: Jake O’Brien of Everton shakes hands with David Moyes, Manager of Everton, after the Premier League match between Brentford FC and Everton FC at Brentford Community Stadium on February 26, 2025 in Brentford, England. (Photo by Warren Little/Getty Images)
Jake O’Brien shakes hands with David Moyes after his late goal secured a point for Everton at Brentford(Image: Warren Little/Getty Images)
There is so much football. So unorthodox things within in it are pretty rare.
It’s why they’re so fun when they surface. Supporters love a goalkeeper ambling upfield for a late corner or an unlikely goalscorer finding the net. It’s perhaps why Evertonians have taken so quickly to Jake O’Brien the right-back – because the towering Irishman doesn’t fit the typical template for what a modern-day full-back should look like.
It’s clearly something David Moyes wanted to experiment with early in his Everton tenure though. In the first game of his second spell – the 1-0 loss to Aston Villa – he brought O’Brien off the bench for Ashley Young with seven minutes remaining to offer a different option at right-back.
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Since then, O’Brien has made the position his own. Since then, nine games ago, Everton have not lost in the Premier League.
The Irishman has played his part in that sequence being extended. Pretty directly against West Ham United on Saturday when he netted a 91st-minute equaliser, but also with what he’s offered as a right-back in the preceding matches.
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Although O’Brien had been completely marginalised by former manager Sean Dyche, Moyes clearly saw something in him immediately.
“I think he was the one player who, to be fair, Leighton Baines played him in the cup against Peterborough, I’d watched the game and I thought he’d done quite well,” said the Everton manager back in January. “He is a centre-half, but a lot of young central defenders make their debuts as full-backs.
“I was one when I was at Celtic, for example. But if you look at a lot of centre-backs, sometimes midfield players might have to play wide. So Jake at the moment might need to… We have got two really good centre-backs so to get him in, we’ve tried to use him a little bit as a full-back. ”
The obvious point of comparison to O’Brien for Evertonians has been Joleon Lescott, although Moyes did use Phil Jagielka and Joseph Yobo at full-back too before they moved infield.
After joining the Blues from Wolverhampton Wanderers in 2006, Lescott was used as a left-back initially by Moyes and turned in some excellent performances. Eventually he was shifted across to centre-back and was sold to Manchester City for around £25million, where he won two Premier League titles.
“I came on – I think with 20 minutes to go and played left-back,” said Lescott reflecting on his Everton debut. “I’d never played there before. I remember misplacing a pass and the reaction to it. That was a moment when I realised how it’s different level in the Premier League, and with that, comes a different level of scrutiny.
“I realised I had to understand what it takes to play in this division, and that you’ve got to enjoy those challenges.”
O’Brien will no doubt have gone through similar thought processes in recent weeks and while he performed well at the start of his stint at full-back, against West Ham it was undoubtedly the most comfortable he has looked in the role.
There will be a hope that like Lescott, he can reflect on this stint in years to come when he is a thriving centre-back and recognise its importance.
It is also perhaps another sign that points to Everton being on a surer overall footing. Under Dyche, the club was living largely hand to mouth from a financial point of view and the short-term focus was on getting points in the immediacy due to the threat of relegation. O’Brien was a new face, would require some patience and would potentially be seen as a big risk. He was shunned as an option.
But Moyes? He has the benefit of Everton being in a much healthier position off the pitch and with a two-and-a-half year deal signed, the Scot is clearly thinking about what the Blues will look like beyond this season too. O’Brien is evidently someone who he thinks can be a big part of that.
Positionally, that will likely be at centre-back as early as next year. Michael Keane looks set to leave the club in the summer, James Tarkowski will only have one year left come the end of the season and Jarrad Branthwaite will no doubt have suitors again.
But O’Brien? Having been linked with an exit in January, his position in the squad suddenly looks secure. There is so much value in a composed and versatile defender with his physical gifts.
Evertonians will no doubt continue to enjoy his physical dominance of wingers and unorthodox surges forward for now. Beyond this season though, a familiar path looks set fair for the Irishman. One Moyes has followed and his players have before. One that has worked.
