JAKE O’BRIEN’S MOVE to Lyon this week was a very modern transfer.
It involved two rival multi-club models, one American billionaire, and the benefit of an Irish passport in a post-Brexit landscape.
At the heart of it all, though, remained one of the game’s unchangeable constants: a supremely talented footballer emerging from the densely populated confines of youth football who now finds himself on the cusp of establishing himself as a seasoned professional.
But there is still work to do, even if O’Brien has just signed a four-year contract with the French giants, becoming the first Irish player to represent the club since Mick McCarthy in 1989/90.
Head coach Laurent Blanc has informed the Cork native that he will run the rule over him in first-team training over the next couple of weeks before deciding if wants him to go back on loan to further his development or remain as part of his immediate plans.
He definitely won’t feature against Montpellier in the club’s first home game of the Ligue 1 season tonight as international clearance has yet to be finalised.
🇮🇪🦁𝐖𝐞𝐥𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐋𝐲𝐨𝐧!#OBrien2027 pic.twitter.com/3QYqXm8PSh
— Olympique Lyonnais 🇬🇧🇺🇸 (@OL_English) August 15, 2023
With a deal that runs until 2027, it had already been made clear by head of recruitment Bruno Cheyrou (the former Liverpool player) during the negotiation process that O’Brien was part of a “long-term project”, but initial meetings with Blanc since arriving in France have left the door ajar for a more immediate chance to impress up close.
Lyon are in a state of flux having finished seventh and eighth in the last two seasons, while the role of Sporting Director is currently vacant. Opportunity might just knock, even if Croatia international Duje Ćaleta-Car has been brought in on loan from Southampton to partner Ivory Coast centre back Sinaly Diomandé following the €30 million sale of Castello Lukeba to RB Leipzig.
French lessons have already begun for O’Brien, and will continue three times a week at the sprawling campus on the east side of the city that houses the training complex and 59,000-seater Groupama Stadium (where France beat Ireland in the last 16 of Euro 2016).
It’s been a startling period in O’Brien’s career trajectory.
His breakthrough as an 18-year-old with Cork City in 2019 led to a traditional pathway of progress. A loan move to Crystal Palace – some decision-makers were unconvinced until he arrived – resulted in an offer of a permanent contract, before he was then sent on another loan to League Two Swindon Town in January of 2022.
It seemed as if he would tread a common route but, just over a year later, O’Brien has the chance to work under World Cup winner Blanc at a club that has won the French title seven times and were Champions League semi-finalists just three years ago.
The reason for that dramatic change in O’Brien’s fortunes is what happened after returning from Swindon.
This is when the American billionaire enters the story.
John Textor is the businessman who invested just shy of £90 million for a 40 per cent share of Palace in 2021.
In January of 2022 he bought a majority stake in two more clubs – Botafogo in Brazil and Belgian second division side RWD Molenbeek. By December of that year Textor had increased his share in Lyon to almost 80 per cent.
He was now in control, and his Eagle Football Holdings company was really taking shape.
O’Brien would be one of the first beneficiaries of the latest multi-club model to emerge, although his loan move to Molenbeek last season would also eventually lead to a clash with another operation with far greater resources – City Football Group, which has Premier League and Champions League holders Manchester City at the top of their pyramid, backed by the nation state of Abu Dhabi.
The towering defender’s performances in Belgium caught the eye within a month. Quick on the turn, impressive anticipation to make blocks and interceptions, strong in the air and comfortable with the ball at his feet, he eventually helped Molenbeek seal a dramatic promotion back to the top flight.
But long before that Palace were aware of interest from some of the top five clubs in Belgium – one made a concrete offer – as well as in Germany, the Netherlands and France.
Lyon, naturally, knew all about O’Brien’s improvement with the shared database of analytics and stats within the Eagle Football Holdings group.
And as his contract at Palace entered its final year others were beginning to notice too. Bristol City in the English Championship tried their luck with two bids in the last two windows, while the City Football Group had an offer rejected in June when their Ligue 2 club Troyes came to the table.
At this stage, O’Brien had plenty of cards to play.
Roy Hodgson brought him on Palace’s pre-season tour of America and was impressed, offering a new long-term contract. But the defender was still on the radar of various European clubs who knew his deal was running out.
Crucially, as an Ireland U21 international, he also ticked another box post-Brexit in that clubs knew there would be no red tape getting him. And his ability to adapt instantly to a new life in Brussels had also impressed suitors, easing fears he would struggle to settle. They had begun making calls to find out about his character, personality, and availability within weeks of arriving at Molenbeek.
The wheels were in motion for the next stage of his development long before they had secured promotion – and O’Brien was being kept informed of the interest throughout.
Textor and Eagle Football held off the advances of City Football Group, with Lyon paying Palace in the region of €1 million for his services. That fee is understood to be lower than others on offer, with a 15 per cent sell-on fee understood to be coming Cork’s way.
Another loan is something O’Brien accepts may be required to continue his progression with regular, competitive football.
But for now he remains inside the Lyon tent with a chance to win over Blanc much sooner than first imagined.
How far O’Brien goes next is not something that can be easily mapped out.