Joey O'Brien

Joey O’Brien is a defender of West Ham United. He was born on 17 February 1986 in Dublin, Ireland.

In 2004 Joey graduated from the academy of Bolton and joined the main team of the club. However, he did not stay there for long, as the management decided to send the footballer on a season-long loan to Sheffield Wednesday, where he made 15 appearances and netted two goals. After the end of his spell, O’Brien returned to his parent club and performed for it during six years. The defender featured only in 50 games, because the head coach let more experienced and skilled footballers on the pitch, thus using Joey as a sub.

In 2011 the player returned to Sheffield Wednesday for a half-a-year loan and took part in four games for the temporary team. In the summer 2011, London side West Ham sealed a long-term deal with O’Brien on permanent basis. Joey eventually became confident about his career and began to come on the field in the starting line-up, thus continuing his development. The footballer made 35 appearances and netted one goal for ‘The Hammers’ during his debut 2011/2012 season.

From 2005 till 2006, the Irish defender was capped six times for the Republic of Ireland national U-21 squad. From 2006, he featured in three games of the full national team.