Jake O’Brien confident he can play part in Patrick Vieira’s Crystal Palace revolution

O’Brien last January moved from Cork City on an initial loan arrangement, soon upgraded into a permanent deal, and was last week granted a three-year extension.

Jake O’Brien insists he has the punch to work his way into Patrick Vieira’s plans at Crystal Palace.

The 20-year-old defender last January moved from Cork City on an initial loan arrangement, soon upgraded into a permanent deal, and was last week granted a three-year extension.

During that period, he won the first international caps at any level and will now face Italy in Friday’s U21 Euro qualifier. “I have been a late bloomer, to be honest,” said the Youghal man.

That applies to his physique. The public will see a strapping centre-back at Tallaght but up until his mid-teens, O’Brien was a slightly built presence, whose sporting future seemed to be in the ring as a bantamweight.

“I won an All-Ireland hurling medal with Cork hurlers at U14 level, the same year I became a national boxing champion,” O’Brien explained about the various interests during his upbringing.

“I thought about pursuing a boxing career but packed it in because football was definitely my number one target.”

Three years working his way through the Cork City ranks, including nine appearances in last season’s gruelling relegation season, led to Palace showing an interest.

Although his U23 team manager Stephen Rice has quit to join the FAI, another Irishman, Paddy McCarthy, is now in charge.

O’Brien has noticed a cultural shift since Vieira arrived as senior boss in the summer.

“His style suits my game,” he declared.

“I see himself as a ball-playing centre-back, I don’t just boot the ball up the field with no notion of keeping it. I’ll be looking to break through into the first team and show what I can do.”

Ireland host top seeds Italy and Sweden over a four-day period, badly in need of points to revive their qualifying ambitions. They have beaten Bosnia-Herzegovina and Luxembourg but dropped two points to the latter away from home and lost 2-1 in Montenegro last month.