Lyon confirm the exact transfer fee Everton have paid for Jake O'Brien as club statement released

Lyon have confirmed the exact transfer fee that Everton have paid for Jake O’Brien.

The 23-year-old defender joined the Toffees yesterday from the French club - becoming the club’s fifth signing of the summer window. O’Brien enjoyed an eye-catching 2023-24 season as he helped Lyon finish sixth in Ligue 1 - earning Europa League qualification - while they were beaten 2-1 by Paris Saint-Germain in the Cope de France final.

O’Brien, a Republic of Ireland international, returns to the Premier League just a year after leaving Crystal Palace. When Everton announced the centre-back, who has signed a four-year deal at Goodison Park, they stated it was an undisclosed fee. But Eagle Football Holdings - the owners of Lyon - is on the French stock market so the company has to declare the figures of the transaction.

The Gones revealed that they will receive €19.5 million - which converts to around £16.43 million - and that the club are entitled to a 10% sell-on fee if O’Brien is sold for profit in the future. A club statement said: “Olympique Lyonnais announces the transfer of its Irish international defender Jake O'Brien to the English club Everton. The transfer fee is €19.5 million, to which a 10% interest on the capital gain of a possible transfer may be added.

“In high demand during this transfer window, the 1.97m defender has therefore seized the opportunity to discover the Premier League with Everton. Olympique Lyonnais would like to thank Jake O'Brien for his investment, determination and professionalism throughout this season and wishes him much success for the rest of his career.”

O’Brien unsurprisingly did not feature for Everton in last night’s 3-0 loss to Coventry City. Sean Dyche will want the ex-Cork City man to quickly get up to speed given that first-choice centre-back duo James Tarkowski and Jarrad Branthwaite are still to feature in pre-season because of respective injuries.

Dyche told evertontv: “Jake, we'll see on his fitness, he's another newcomer to it. Another younger player experience-wise. I’m looking for him to adapt quickly, we need that. Ili [Ndiaye], Tim [Iroegbunam] and the likes need to adapt quickly but he looks a good specimen and has a good manner about him to play for Everton.”