"It doesn’t take for me to say how good he is," said O’Brien, speaking at this afternoon’s Ireland press conference in Dublin.

"I think everyone knows how good he is and what he’s achieved over the last couple of years.

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I think everyone knows how good he is and how high his ceiling is.

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The towering defender struggled for opportunities early in the Everton league campaign, and O’Brien admits that his situation was very different six months ago.

"He's a huge part of the club at Everton, he's highly respected at the club, what he's going to do next July I don't know," said O’Brien.

"He can do what he wants, if he wants to be a coach or a player, either one he wants to be, but I think it's important we keep him at the club, he's at the heart of everything.


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