Dougie Freedman has made very few mistakes in his role of Director of Football at Crystal Palace.
The Glaswegian is responsible for some of the best recruitment ever seen at Selhurst Park, with moves like the £8m signing of Michael Olise highly unlikely to be replicated by anyone else in future.
However, no Director of Football has a 100% record in the transfer market, which can often be an unforgiving space amid the fiercely competitive nature of football at this level.
For all the Scot’s qualities, there was one deal Dougie Freedman sanctioned which could now be seen by Crystal Palace fans as a big mistake…
Jake O’Brien now worth millions after leaving Crystal Palace
Well, those on the recruitment team at Selhurst Park decided to let Jake O’Brien leave for Lyon back in August 2023.
The French giants – owned by John Textor – sealed a €1m (£855,000) deal for the Irishman, who has since become a fan favourite at Lyon.
O’Brien has scored four goals across 21 appearances in Ligue 1 so far this season – while also providing one assist – to help Lyon rise up to tenth after a woeful start to the 2023/24 campaign.
As a result, the central defender is now being valued at €15m (£13m) by the CIES Football Observatory.
That is, of course, far more than what Crystal Palace sold O’Brien for, which suggests a loan exit would have made more sense for the clearly talented 22-year-old.
A story from Foot Mercato in France has even claimed that Everton want to bring the defender back to England.
Not a disaster
While it would have made sense to keep O’Brien as a long-term replacement for James Tomkins, this is far from a disaster for Crystal Palace.
As aforesaid, Lyon are owned by Textor, who co-owns Crystal Palace, so the Cork-born defender at least remains under the Eagle Holdings umbrella and a return to SE25 could quite easily materialise one day.
Ultimately, O’Brien needed to move permanently after loans at Swindon Town and RWD Molenbeek.
Marc Guehi, Joachim Andersen and Chris Richards were all ahead of the Irishman in the pecking order while he was still at Selhurst Park, before Freedman also signed Rob Holding from Arsenal.
Therefore, O’Brien potentially became disillusioned at Crystal Palace, and while we may have lost out financially, it is good to see him now shining at Lyon.
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