'I thought Jake came through quite well' - O'Brien hailed by new Everton manager Moyes

'The strongest point of the team has always been defensively but I thought Jake would maybe give us a chance to build a little bit better when we've got the ball - which might free us up a little bit if we can work it.'

Mon, 20 Jan, 2025 - 08:43

John Fallon

Jake O’Brien was lauded by his new Everton manager David Moyes after making his first Premier League start in Sunday’s 3-2 win over Tottenham Hotspur.

Since the Corkman was signed from Lyon last summer for £16.4m, he’d only made the starting line-up for three cup matches, sporadically gathering 45 minutes of league action, but the picture has changed since Moyes returned to the club in succession to Sean Dyche.

The Toffees raced into a three-goal lead at Goodison Park in a game the Youghal native played 88 minutes of before making way for Michael Keane.

Experienced boss Moyes spoke highly of the three-times capped Ireland player, who was deployed on the right side, rather than his usual centre, of defence.

"We wanted to have a look at Jake (O'Brien),” Moyes told evertontv after his second game at the helm of his second spell.

"We've not really had a chance to see him. The strongest point of the team has always been defensively but I thought Jake would maybe give us a chance to build a little bit better when we've got the ball - which might free us up a little bit if we can work it.

"I think for long periods he did quite well.

“For Jake, it was about getting as much of the 90-minutes as we could out of him because he's not played so much but I thought he came through quite well and did a lot of things."

Former Manchester United and West Ham United boss Moyes spoke about the cohesion with Jesper Lindstrom on the right side.

He added: "We didn't want (Lindstrom) to be an out and out wing-back - we wanted Jake sometimes to be right-back and on the build, to be a bit wider.

“So we tried to get Jesper in two or three different roles - but I thought defensively for us he did a pretty good job as well. I think he showed a little bit of grit about his game."

Everton face Brighton and Hove Albion, along with Leicester City, before hosting Bournemouth in the FA Cup fourth round on February 8.