David Moyes has completely turned Everton’s fortunes around since rejoining in January.
The Toffees have gone from a relegation battle under Sean Dyche to sitting 17 points clear of the bottom three.
Everton are on a nine-game unbeaten run under David Moyes and there’s a genuine belief that he could lead them back to Europe next season.
The Friedkin Group are planning to invest heavily in the squad and there have already been rumours linking Hamza Igamane to Goodison Park.
Moyes has been able to improve pretty much every player, even the underperforming ones with Dyche, and it turns out one first-teamer has been doing extra sessions with Leighton Baines, who recently stepped up from the academy coaching set-up.
Photo by Dan Istitene/Getty Images
Photo by Dan Istitene/Getty Images
Jake O’Brien doing extra sessions with Leighton Baines
Jake O’Brien has been exceptional for Everton since breaking into the starting 11.
Under Dyche, Jake O’Brien was reduced to a few minutes on the bench here and there but he’s now become a stalwart of Moyes’ backline.
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And, according to the Liverpool Echo, O’Brien is doing extra training sessions with Moyes’ assistant Leighton Baines.
Baines has been tasked with improving the attacking output from Everton’s fullbacks and it’s paying dividends with the Republic of Ireland international.
O’Brien has netted twice this year and has massively improved his ball-carrying, despite being a centre-back by trade.
O’Brien hails Baines’ influence
O’Brien has recently waxed lyrical about Baines, noting that he’s been implementing drills to improve chance creation.
“That is part of the training we are working on, getting into the final third and creating chances,” the 23-year-old said.
“I think we have shown that today we are just unlucky we didn’t finish them. Leighton (Baines) has been a big part of it; all the coaches have been part of it, getting a few players in, attacking and defending, working on different things.”
Despite performing as a right-back, O’Brien’s physique and height make him ideal to be a centre-back, so perhaps he’ll revert to his previous position when the Toffees finish their summer business.
Everton have been linked with a move for Kyle Walker-Peters, who is out of contact at Southampton at the end of June.