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David Moyes has addressed Jake O’Brien’s breakthrough, Dwight McNeil’s fitness and new contracts ahead of Everton’s trip to Brentford.
Jake O’Brien was Everton’s biggest signing summer but while that still didn’t help him to get a Premier League start under Sean Dyche, the Republic of Ireland international has arguably been the biggest winner from David Moyes’ second coming at Goodison Park. The Blues splashed out £16.43million to snap up O’Brien from Olympique Lyonnais at the end of July.
But despite a spectacular goal on his debut in a 3-0 romp at Preston North End in a pre-season friendly less than a week later, just 15 minutes after coming on as a half-time substitute, the man from County Cork found competitive outings much harder to come by.
O’Brien totalled little more than half an hour of Premier League football under Dyche, coming off the bench in defeats at Aston Villa (3-2 on September 14) and Manchester United (4-0 on December 1).
Moyes’ first game back in the reverse fixture against Unai Emery’s side was something of a hangover of his predecessor’s reign in terms of both performance and personnel but once the Scot had managed to take more than a single day’s look at his squad, O’Brien has started all seven games.
Although he will celebrate his 24th birthday in the same week that Goodison Park stages her last-ever competitive fixture as Everton host Southampton, it’s been a steep learning curve for a player who was previously at Crystal Palace without making a single first team appearance. Returning to Selhurst Park for the Blues’ previous away game, O’Brien was part of a side that picked up back-to-back victories on the road for the first time since December 2023 and he then followed that up with a disciplined showing after the break against Manchester United having picked up a booking in first half stoppage time.
Moyes said: “I think Jake has done really well. I think he is a really young player even though he is a good age, young in his thoughts.
“He played ever so well, really well against Brighton and Kaoru Mitoma. Even the game against Liverpool he was really good.
“Alejandro Garnacho gave him a bit of a problem. We are not trying to make him an out-and-out right back.
“We have had to try to find a way to get a team to get us some results. Put him in, sometimes make it three at the back, sometimes four.
“We had to use him. I still see a young boy with so much learning to do but he has done really, really well.” O’Brien’s current deployment draws parallels to Moyes’ early use of Joleon Lescott.
Having personally scouted the player extensively, watching him turn out for Wolverhampton Wanderers 24 times before signing him in 2006, Lescott was often used as a full-back in his early days at Everton – on the left hand side, ahead of Leighton Baines who would eventually develop into the Blues’ best player in that position of the modern era – before the Brummie established himself as a top Premier League performer and England international at the heart of defence.
Moyes said: “I said that quite often, young centre-backs have to find their way out as full backs. The same with centre forwards starting off the wings before they get a chance in the main roles.
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