James Tarkowski has given Everton a defensive dilemma – and Jake O’Brien has work to do | OneFootball

As last season came to a close, James Tarkowski’s status as an automatic starter for Everton looked under threat. A shaky end to the season, during a disappointing run-in as Everton imploded in the race for Europe, saw Tarkowski criticised.

​A free transfer from Burnley in 2022, the centre-back has proven fine value, but with his 34th birthday approaching, a changing of the guard looked imminent. With Everton in the market this summer to sign a long-awaited right-back, and Jake O’Brien desperate for minutes in his favoured central role, it looked like a natural progression for O’Brien to partner Jarrad Branthwaite and for Tarkowski to take up a squad role.

​Seven games into the new season, Tarkowski has silenced some of his doubters. Everton have recorded five clean sheets in all competitions, while three goals conceded in the Premier League marks the division’s joint-best defensive record.

​Branthwaite’s return has allowed Tarkowski to get back to what he’s good at: Duel winning. Assured by Branthwaite’s recovery pace and positioning, Tarkowski has been freed to attack contests. No defender in the Premier League has won a higher percentage of duels (81.36%) than the Everton captain, who is the only defender in the league to record a 75%+ success rate in aerial and defensive duels.

Furthermore, Tarkowski is the only defender to have made 10+ tackles and 10+ interceptions in the league this season.

Judging defenders by volume is, of course, not always advisory, but his duel success rates certainly show Tarkowski has plenty to offer, particularly when paired with Branthwaite.

​So, where does that leave O’Brien?

And how does the Irishman resurrect his Everton career?

O’Brien has spent much of the season on the sidelines, totalling 17 league minutes across two substitute outings. He faced criticism from the Irish media for his performance in Kosovo during the current break, with his sharpness stifled by a lack of minutes at club level.

​O’Brien was linked with an exit late in the window, with Leeds and Crystal Palace both credited with interest. Both sides spotted potential in the 25-year-old, who had been earmarked for a right-sided role in back threes. O’Brien’s experience defending wide areas, plus a 6ft 6in frame, made him perhaps an ideal addition for Daniel Farke’s towering Leeds side, or a Palace backline still rebuilding from Marc Guehi’s and Maxence Lacroix’s exits.

​O’Brien has qualities that could make him the long-term partner for Branthwaite, though there are clear areas for improvement if he is to win Moyes’s trust. For a player of such stature, he’s not as commanding in the air as he should be. Last season, O’Brien won just 60.11% of his aerial duels and 65.8% of his duels overall. The former statistic offers some concern, given O’Brien was stationed at right-back, where aerial threats are less prominent than when directly up against centre-forwards.

​O’Brien would help combat Tarkowski’s shortcomings in terms of speed over the ground, though he also needs improvement on the ball. In 2025-26, he completed just 56.7% of his progressive passes. Tarkowski, this season, is at a 70.97% success rate, having also been above 70% last season. Their numbers for progressive carries were almost identical last season, though Tarkowski’s numbers have dropped this time around.

​Those numbers should not be treated as definitive verdicts on either player, with O’Brien’s passing lanes and carrying options certainly impacted by being stationed at right-back. Nevertheless, O’Brien must show he can offer something Tarkowski can not, if he’s to oust the skipper from the side.

For now, Tarkowski’s resurgence makes it hard to argue that Everton should change a partnership that is delivering results, and Branthwaite’s presence appears to have helped bring his qualities back to the fore.

That does not mean O’Brien’s opportunity has disappeared. At 25, he has time to develop, and his versatility will prove useful for a small squad, across a long season. But he needs regular minutes, whether at centre-back or in another role, to sharpen his game.

Tarkowski’s age means succession planning remains necessary, but his early-season performances have made the decision less straightforward than it appeared in the summer. Rather than handing O’Brien a route into the side by default, Moyes now has a captain who is making a convincing case to stay where he is.