Jake O’Brien looks set to become Everton’s latest signing amid reports the Club are either close to or have already agreed a deal with Olympique Lyonnais for the centre-half.
O’Brien has been consistently linked with the Blues this summer, not least because of the speculation around the future of Jarrad Branthwaite, and Sky Sports’ Northwest correspondent Alan Myers claims that an agreement between the two clubs is close.
Fabrizio Romano goes one step further, tweeting that a deal has been reached and that the highly-rated 23-year-old will soon undergo a medical ahead of a permanent switch to Everton on a five-year contract.
According to The Telegraph, the deal struck with Lyon is for around £17m.
O’Brien began his career at Cork City in his native Ireland before being picked up by Crystal Palace after impressing on what was initially a loan move to the Eagles’ development team.
He had additional loan spells at Swindon Town and Molenbeek in Belgium before signing for Lyon for just €1m last year where he has excelled and become a target for a handful of Premier League clubs, including Brentford, Wolves and Everton while Ajax Amsterdam had been heavily linked this month.
Last season, the 6′-6″ defender helped the Ligue 1 side propel themselves from relegation danger and up to a 6th-place finish, emerging as the team’s second-top scorer in the process.