Jake O'Brien
Imposing centre-back Jake O'Brien joined on an initial half-season loan from Cork City in February 2021. He then made the move to south London permanent in the summer of 2021.
Imposing centre-back Jake O'Brien joined on an initial half-season loan from Cork City in February 2021. He then made the move to south London permanent in the summer of 2021.
O'Brien collected nine Irish Premier League appearances with the Rebel Army before switching to south London.
He hit the ground running for Shaun Derry's men, scoring his first goal for the club against Sunderland in March 2021 – he added two more against Middlesbrough in their crucial 3-2 victory at Selhurst Park, as they went on to secure promotion to the Premier League 2 Division 1 via the play-offs in their first season as a Category 1 Academy.
He has represented the Republic of Ireland Under 21s side on 11 occasions, with his most recent call-up coming in their vital U21 European Championship play-off game against Israel.
O'Brien signed a contract extension in November 2021 and earned a half-season loan move to League Two Swindon Town in January 2022.
The centre-back returned from his loan at Swindon to feature in Palace's 2022/23 pre-season squad which went on tour to Australia and Singapore.
The Irishman earned loan move to Belgian side RWD Molenbeek at the start of the 22/23 campaign. He helped them earn promotion to the Belgian Pro League, the top tier of Belgian football, and also earned a place in the Challenger Pro League Team of the Season.