Jake O’Brien’s switch to right back shows he is a modern footballer 

When Everton played Leeds on Monday Night Football on the first weekend of the Premier League season, the commentators made sure to take a moment to talk about Youghal native Jake O’Brien.

The defender was stationed at right-back, alongside James Tarkowski, and up against Wilfried Gnonto.

The battle wasn’t the thing that caught the commentators’ attention, but the fact that O’Brien had only one game at in that position before moving to Goodison Park during the summer of 2024.

The unusual thing was that it was for Cork City against Finn Harps during their ill-fated Premier Division campaign in 2020.

O’Brien didn’t start that night in Donegal, he came on as a substitute for Dale Holland as Neal Fenn tried to see out the game after Raffaele Cretaro equalised in the 76th minute.

The experiment was replicated to success in Liverpool under David Moyes, despite his familiarity with playing in central defence as shown with Lyon and RWD Molenbeek.

O’Brien is now a permanent fixture on the right side of a back four, which recently featured in Everton’s victories over Brighton and Wolves before the September international break.

The collective is gaining, and also the individual as the defender is adding another string to his bow with every game played there.

Moyes is more than aware of this, he made sure to single out O’Brien’s versatility when speaking to the media before a game with Chelsea at Stamford Bridge during the run-in last season.

"Well, I think Jake is a centre-half," he said.

"I'm not worried about doing it, that's for sure. It's trying to get the right balance for the team, which we think he's done a brilliant job playing at full-back, so sometimes you've got the decision to make - do I change two positions or do I change one position?” 

The thing is, for change to work there needs to be an element of adaptability between a player and a manager.

If it doesn’t work, one party might suffer. The most famous example of this locally is Sean Maguire’s at Dundalk as he was stationed as a winger under Stephen Kenny and the forward’s form dropped. 

The Kilkenny native departed shortly after in search of a fresh start and Cork City was his salvation when John Caulfield played him through the middle as a striker, with wingers on either side allowing him to get into positions that felt natural.

O’Brien’s situation is different, and as it is more in line with the modern way of thinking, as coaches are now looking to develop rounded players with an understanding of multiple positions, a way of thinking that can be traced back to the Netherlands in the 1970s.

With O’Brien, it all goes back to who he was when he first broke through at senior level during the tail end of the 2019 season at Cork City as the instruction was to pass the ball out from the back in a team trying to play possession based football.

The defender’s reward was a loan spell with Crystal Palace after his parent club were relegated and he used his time in England to earn a permanent move to Lyon.

There’s more to the well told story, but the important part is the focus on developing as opposed to rushing into a senior environment.

The final piece of the puzzle in turning him into a right-back was actually Leighton Baines, an Everton legend that enjoyed a prolonged career in blue on the left.

The former England international took O’Brien under his wing, with the focus on his positional play at left back during a training camp. 

Everything was geared towards making him better in wide positions, instead being a defender in a very strict sense.

“We’re doing bits individually after training with the coaches and part of that is about getting into the final third and creating chances,” O’Brien talked about this towards with The Athletic.

“Leighton has been a big part of it, but all the coaches, really. They’ve all had their players attacking and defending. 

"I think it’s shown in glimpses here.

“The more games I play (at right-back), the more comfortable I become. You adapt to it and have good lads and coaches around to help you through.” 

The defensive work came on through natural instinct and a refined skill set. 

The important thing was the ability to pass and cross the ball, as this separated him from the pact.

That’s how O’Brien was made, and the slightest of positional shift was mastered.