Loaned to RWDM last season from Crystal Palace, Jake O’Brien returned to Selhurst Park with a new status, having enjoyed glowing reviews in Belgium.
There was a belief he might be able to convince Roy Hodgson to use him during the current campaign, and the player set off on pre-season with the Premier League side.
However, it wasn’t to be, and the defender was sold by Crystal Palace to Lyon, where he is now making a name for himself, sitting down with Le Soir in Belgium to discuss the last few months of his career.
While there was a lot of talk about his time at Molenbeek, where he won the Belgium second-tier title and helped them return to the Jupiler Pro League, he was also asked about his return to the Eagles and his desire to prove his worth to the English club.
He said: “I especially wanted to prove it to myself, but after the preseason, which went well in my eyes, I thought it was time to move and follow a different path in my career. I wanted a new challenge, and Lyon came. I couldn’t refuse.”
There was also talk about him potentially returning to RWDM on a permanent basis, and O’Brien admitted that it was a possibility, but nothing concrete ever came from it.
That’s why he chose to go to Lyon, who have been in terrible form, sitting rock bottom of Ligue 1 with one win in their first 11 games.
It was, in fact, O’Brien who scored the winner this weekend against Rennes to give his new club their first three points of the season.
