Selling Jake O'Brien would be a step in the wrong direction for Everton

On Monday, Paddy Boyland of The Athletic revealed that Everton would be willing to listen to offers for Jake O’Brien.

It came a bit out of the blue (pardon the pun), although, perhaps, in hindsight it was predictable, as well.

Now, to be clear, the report did not suggest Everton were eager to sell O’Brien. Just that they would be open to discussions if any interested party tabled a big enough bid in the next week. It may go no further than that.

It is understood Everton value O’Brien at over £30M. But, the initial reaction has been one of frustration.

And it’s fair enough.

This feels like it should be the season that O’Brien, signed for around £15M up front back in 2024, becomes a regular fixture in the team, not at right-back, but at centre-back.

Now, I am not one of those that thinks it is yet the right time to ditch James Tarkowski.

That’s not out of some flawed loyalty to Tarkowski, but rather, he has a very good record as part of a pairing with Jarrad Branthwaite. For two seasons, they were one of the standout centre-back pairings in the Premier League.

However, last season, Branthwaite had his well-documented injury issues, and Tarkowski’s form dipped, especially when he was playing next to Michael Keane.

O’Brien, meanwhile, impressed in the few games he did get to play as a centre-back. He offers a decent turn of pace, once he gets going, and is a physical presence. He is perhaps not as dominant in the air as he could be, but he has plenty of talent to work with.

But at 25, O’Brien needs to be playing regularly in his proper position.

In my ideal world, O’Brien would be Everton’s back-up centre-back right now, but that would involve plenty of game time.

Branthwaite will have to be handled carefully, especially in the early part of the season and when the fixtures become congested, and O’Brien should be able to slot in if Everton’s best defender needs the odd rest.

Then, as the season goes on, you’d like to think David Moyes would be willing to move away from Tarkowski as being a guaranteed starter. The former Burnley man will turn 34 next year, it’s time that he becomes that rotation option, a bit like Phil Jagielka in his later days at Everton.

The issue may be that Moyes just doesn’t see it that way, and so Everton are in the position of having to weigh up whether to cash in on O’Brien if a sizeable offer comes in.

It may not be that O’Brien is fundamentally unhappy — indeed, it never really is that black and white. It is more likely that he is open to joining a club where he has a clearer, quicker pathway to regular minutes in his preferred position.

But selling O’Brien would signal Everton are going in the wrong direction. They would essentially be prioritising Tarkowski, and maybe even Michael Keane, over playing a centre-back going into his prime. That is simply not good enough.

Now, there’s the possibility, of course, that Everton may simply think that they can get good value for O’Brien, and invest that back into a centre-back who is either the same age, or younger, but with higher potential and more of the skillset they want moving forward. 

The worry, though, would be that the club instead turn to someone like Ben White; an expensive (in terms of wages), older player who yes, has plenty of Premier League experience, and can fill in at both right-back and centre-back.

White is not a bad player, but his injury record and high wages should force Everton to stray clear.

It’s not that there has been any concrete links to White in a while, but one can’t help but think it seems very Everton.

The club also aren’t helped by there being so little interest in the fringe players they really need to move on.

There has been nothing of note for Carlos Alcaraz; Nathan Patterson remains an Everton player, and Tim Iroegbunam’s proposed departure to Hull City is on ice for now. Beto has generated some genuine interest, but if he goes, any funds from that sale would need to be reinvested into a replacement.

It does leave Everton short of options for sales, and so perhaps they are having to reluctantly look at other players in their squad that could generate value, while not immediately denting the first team.

It would, though, be a step in the wrong direction, and it would do little to appease those fans who point out the flaws in TFG and Angus Kinnear’s grand plan to be tied to recruitment centred around being fit for a manager who will probably not be here in a years’ time.

It would also be nice to see some patience from O’Brien and his representatives, too, but who knows if Everton have actually laid out a clear pathway for him to play in his best position? And in fairness, he has done his time at right-back — he has earned the right to insist he should not be used there, barring emergencies.

There’s now another narrative to keep a close eye on for the last week of the window, and perhaps even more work for Everton to do.

Read more - Everton youngsters are forcing David Moyes to rethink old habits

 

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