O'Brien: 'I am playing consistently in one of Europe’s top leagues so why shouldn’t I be considered?'
Boxing and the rush of a ringwalk occupied Jake O’Brien’s early sporting ambition but the stages he’s gracing in football more than match up for prestige.
The Youghal native is Ireland’s sole representative in France, the first to feature in Ligue One for 23 years since Tony Cascarino.
At Lyon, he’s surrounded by royalty in the likes of Alexandre Lacazette, Nemanja Matić and Corentin Tolisso but the most important relevance to stardom is that he’s keeping Dejan Lovren out of the team.
A combination of steely defending and stylish passing has established the Corkman into the realm of first-choice.
Recently, it was Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang for Marseille and Jonathan David at Lille he was shackling.
Tonight (Friday) at the 59,000-seater Groupama Stadium it’ll be Chelsea target Terem Moffi in the colours of Nice he’s pitted against.
Eighteen appearances by this stage of the season wasn’t in the script, for Laurent Blanc signed the centre-back from Crystal Palace as a project player.
A different view was taken by his successor Fabio Grosso; his stance replicated by O’Brien’s third manager of the season, Pierre Sage, and the €1m fee been branded around the league circuit as the bargain of the season.
Sitting in an upstairs room of the club’s plush training ground, adjacent to their stadium, the 22-year-old last week reviewed his surge with trademark modesty.
A character unprepared for the upgrade would’ve been exposed by now.
As a self-proclaimed late bloomer, he doesn’t have time to overthink the swiftness with which he’s become one of this country’s standouts around Europe.
That’s not his bag and nor will he flinch should the ascent accelerate.
There’s a clash with Kylian Mbappé and PSG in April to ponder and then
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