Everton are reaping the rewards of a genius move from David Moyes to bring Jake O’Brien into the fold in defence at Goodison Park.
The Irishman, signed from Lyon last summer but who found opportunities scarce under Sean Dyche, has been a dominant figure in helping secure three straight Premier League wins.
O’Brien has also contributed to clean sheets in three of his last four outings since the turn of the year, finding a new lease of life and providing a solution to the right-back dilemma at Goodison Park.
The towering defender – a centre-back by trade – has felt like a new January signing with his impact, coinciding with the first exciting run for Everton in significant time.
Jake O’Brien has been superb recently for Everton
Everton maintained a rigid system under Dyche which emanated from defensive solidity, but O’Brien was very rarely involved in that.
The 23-year-old has been given an important show of faith by Moyes, however, who has given him the freedom to make the right-back slot his own.
Nathan Patterson has struggled with injury issues and Seamus Coleman is not getting any younger, and the emergence of O’Brien as a full-back option may encourage him to move into the coaching staff at the end of the campaign – a decision which will be mulled over in the coming months.
Vitaliy Mykolenko has been criticised in the past but has also impressed as part of Moyes’ backline of late, and the central pairing between Jarrad Branthwaite and James Tarkowski is in full flow.
The issue under Dyche was that while the defensive sturdiness was intended to be a springboard for the creative players to thrive, there was just very little attacking edge. This is beginning to change under Moyes, the goals are flowing, and O’Brien is among those enabling it.
David Moyes genius as Everton player emerges back from Goodison abyss
