Jake O'Brien has insisted he was 'never close' to leaving Everton during the summer, despite losing his place at right-back. The defender, who joined from Lyon as a centre-back in 2024, spent all of last season at right-back but has been displaced by Merlin Rohl this campaign.
While acknowledging that right-back is not his preferred role, O'Brien dismissed speculation that he wanted to move on. "There was nothing in that," he told the Daily Mail. "I was never close to leaving. People know I'm not a natural right back but I'll play wherever I need to, to help the team. We're only a small squad so it's important everyone chips in."
Learning from Arsenal's example
The Republic of Ireland international pointed to how other clubs use defenders in similar roles. "There's a lot of different right backs. I see Arsenal have centre backs playing at right back so I can take pointers from them but then again, I am 6ft 6in so I'm not the average shape."
Diabetes diagnosis and coma scare
O'Brien was speaking at Finch Farm, where he joined schoolchildren living with Type 1 diabetes for a workshop delivered by Everton in the Community (EitC). He shared his own experiences of the condition, which he was diagnosed with as a teenager.
"I was diagnosed at the age of 16," he said. "I'd been drinking a lot of water, feeling more tired than usual and losing a lot of weight, despite trying hard to gain it. My parents took me to the doctors as a precaution, but my blood sugar levels were so high that I was then sent to the hospital and quickly diagnosed there."
The defender revealed he was just a day away from a coma. "I was told I was a day away from a coma," he said. "If I had gone to sleep that night without having gone to the doctor, who knows?"
Recovery and weight gain
O'Brien went into hospital that night weighing 53kg, but after diagnosis he was back up to 60kg, and within two years he had put on 30kg. "Yeah, 30kg," he said. "I know it's not normal. It must have been some grocery bill for Mum, but I was motivated to put on the weight, going to the gym all the time."
He added: "I was a bit naive about it all. I never expected to have anything but once I knew what diabetes was, I didn't wallow in it, I took it as a positive. Everything just clicked for me physically. I just thought, 'Right, now I know what's wrong, I can get on with my life again'. It was a pain going in and out of hospital, but I just took it as education and wanted to get my sport back on track."
Reflecting on his family's reaction, O'Brien said: "My family are... I wouldn't say cold, but matter of fact. Supportive, obviously, but they are all sporty too, so it was just, 'Get on with it'."
