da bet esporte： Everton defender Jake O’Brien got a rare runout at centre-back last time out against Aston Villa due to Michael Keane’s red card against Wolverhampton Wanderers.

da premier bet： The Ireland international has started 34 times at right-back for the Toffees and only 12 times as a centre-back, per Transfermarkt, since his move from Lyon in the summer of 2024.

O’Brien helped Everton to keep a clean sheet at Villa Park in a 1-0 win, but it remains to be seen whether or not he will keep his place at centre-back when Keane is back from suspension and Jarrad Branthwaite is back from injury.

It could be that the former Crystal Palace prospect goes back into the right-back rotation when Keane and Branthwaite are available to compete with James Tarkowski for a place at centre-back.

Everton told how much it could cost to sign Serie A star

There could be more bad news to come for O’Brien, though, because he may lose his place in the starting line-up as a right-back, with the club eyeing a star in that position.

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Journalist Pete O’Rourke has confirmed that Everton are looking at a possible deal to sign Genoa full-back Brooke Norton-Cuffy, and he has revealed how much it could take to land his signature.

The reporter told Foootball Insider: “Everton, we know their sort of plan to strengthen a right back, they need a long-term successor to Seamus Coleman. He, obviously, has had his issues with injuries and everything else. Jake O’Brien is a centre-back and has done a good job at right-back this season, but right-back is a key area of the team that David Moyes wants to strengthen.

“Norton-Cuffy is another player they have looked at as somebody who could come to the club and improve what’s been a problematic position for Everton.”

O’Rourke added: “They’ll be demanding a decent fee for him, probably between £17-20 million for him, so that makes a deal difficult to do in the January window, but maybe in the summer.”

Why Everton should spend £20m on Norton-Cuffy

The Toffees should splash the £17m to £20m that it could take to snap up Norton-Cuffy now, rather than the summer, because he would offer David Moyes some natural width on that side.

O’Brien has filled in at right-back throughout his time at the club and done a solid job out of position, but he is not a natural full-back who can provide width and creativity down the flank.

The Ireland international has created one ‘big chance’ and provided one assist in the Premier League since the start of last season, per Sofascore, which is to be expected of a player who came to the club as a centre-back.

25/26 PL

O’Brien

Rank vs RBs

Dribble success rate

26.7%

Bottom 16%

Successful dribbles

4

Bottom 39%

xA

0.53

Bottom 35%

Chances created

10

Top 46%

Assists

1

Top 49%

Stats via FotMob

As you can see in the table above, O’Brien does not offer much progression or creativity at right-back in the top-flight, which is why the club should be pushing to sign Brooke Norton-Cuffy.

Their interest in landing a new right-back, therefore, should come as bad news for the Irish defender because it could mean the beginning of the end for his run of starts in the team.

Should Norton-Cuffy arrive at the Hill Dickinson, Moyes would have a natural right-back to replace O’Brien whilst already having Tarkowski, Keane, and Branthwaite ahead of him in the centre-back positions.

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Per Sofascore, the Genoa full-back has created two ‘big chances’ and scored one goal in 19 appearances in the Serie A this season, whilst he has also averaged 1.3 completed dribbles per match.

This means that the England U21 international, who was hailed as an “insane” ball carrier by scout Ben Mattinson, averages 1.1 more dribbles per game than O’Brien, who has completed 0.2 per match on average in the Premier League, per Sofascore.

Norton-Cuffy would, therefore, be a significant upgrade at right-back in terms of his ability to drive the team up the pitch to create attacking situations, whilst also offering more creativity on his own.

On top of that, the 22-year-old talent has made 2.3 tackles and interceptions per game, compared to O’Brien’s 1.7 per match in the Premier League, and could be just as combative, if not more so, off the ball at right-back.

Therefore, Everton’s interest in Norton-Cuffy should come as bad news for the Irish defender, as he could arrive at the Hill Dickinson to take the versatile star’s place in the side moving forward.

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