Everton’s Jake O’Brien has struggled to really get a look-in since making the move in the summer, which is strange when you consider the players he’s proven himself against before.
Sean Dyche has improved things in recent times, but one thing that Everton fans haven’t been best pleased about is the fact that Jake O’Brien has been cast aside in the Premier League.
The defender joined from French club Lyon in the summer for £17 million.
He has just 26 minutes of Premier League action to his name, despite an injury to Jarrad Branthwaite and Michael Keane’s form being questioned at times.
This weekend sees the potential return of Branthwaite if he makes it through testing, which would push Jake O’Brien even further away from a start again.
Nevertheless, O’Brien has been speaking about his past experiences and named the toughest opponent he’s every played against.
Jake O’Brien makes interesting Kylian Mbappe admission
It’s quite surprising that Sean Dyche still has a reluctance about the experience of O’Brien, considering he has played against arguably the best player in the world right now.
Dyche’s comments on O’Brien were telling, as he’s still not managed to get many minutes despite Keane’s form changing for the worst prior to the Newcastle clash.
Interestingly, O’Brien was asked about the toughest player he’s ever came up against recently.
When speaking to Everton, he named Kylian Mbappe.
Kylian Mbappe clashes with Jake O’Brien
Jake O’Brien played once against Kylian Mbappe last season in the final of the French Cup.
The Everton defender scored a goal in the second half and kept Mbappe quiet, despite it finishing 2-1 to Paris Saint-Germain on the day.
Seeing O’Brien in action against high-quality opposition and holding his own makes you want to see him in an Everton shirt even more, but we don’t know when his next appearance will be with Dyche.
Jarrad Branthwaite has been back in training recently, so it could be a while.
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