Lyon sign Crystal Palace defender Jake O’Brien on permanent transfer

Lyon have signed defender Jake O’Brien from Crystal Palace.

The 22-year-old spent last season on loan with Belgian side RWD Molenbeek, where he won promotion to the top-flight.

In signing for Lyon, he becomes the first Irishman in over two decades to join Ligue 1 in France.

Lyon’s American owner John Textor is also a minority shareholder at Palace, and O’Brien’s move marks the first business done between the two clubs.

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Signed by Palace from Cork City in 2021, O’Brien never made a competitive first-team appearance for the Eagles. He spent the 2021/22 season on loan at League Two outfit Swindon before last season’s stint at Molenbeek.

The undisclosed fee used on pinning O’Brien down to a four-year contract is the first money Lyon have spent since selling French centre-back Castello Lukeba to RB Leipzig for £30million last week.

O’Brien had spent pre-season in Roy Hodgson’s first-team squad at Palace, and scored in their 2-1 defeat by Colombian side Millonarios in Chicago.

French Ligue 2 club Troyes had a £1.5m bid for O’Brien rejected at the start of the summer.