French giants Lyon have beaten Manchester City’s group to the signing of Jake O’Brien, with Cork City receiving a six-figure sell-on windfall.
City Group, the multiclub mothership of the Premier League champions, lodged their interest in the Cork-born Crystal Palace defender earlier in the summer by tabling a €1.35m bid.
They intended placing the 6ft 5in defender with Troyes, just relegated from Ligue One, but it will be Laurent Blanc’s Lyon that he’s heading for in France on a long-term contract once Palace finalise the sale.
Roy Hodgson was keen to expose the Youghal native to first-team gametime this season but they were struggling to keep hold of him with just 12 months left on his current deal.
Lyon banked €35m from the sale of defender Castello Lukeba to RB Leipzig and will use about 10 percent of that to cover the position by snaring O’Brien.
He was signed by Palace in 2020 after he’d just broken into the Cork City set-up and they first sent him on loan to Swindon Town.
RWD Molenbeek, also backed by American billionaire John Textor, was an ideal next destination and he clocked up 30 appearances and scored three times as they emerged victorious through the playoffs to gain promotion to the Belgium top-flight.
He also boosted his profile on the international stage, breaking into and keeping his spot in the Ireland U21 squad that last year were denied an unprecedented European Championship qualification by a penalty shootout.
The Seagulls stood firm on deadline day in January when English Championship club Bristol City intensified their interest but they’ve finally caved, with Cork City set to share in the profit.
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