Jake O'Brien appears primed to follow in the footsteps of fellow Irishman Séamus Coleman and cement his place as a core member of Everton's back four.
The Corkonian's move to Merseyside last summer initially seemed disastrous, with O'Brien's game time severely limited before the departure of Sean Dyche as manager.
However, Dyche's successor - the returning David Moyes - has found an unexpected role for O'Brien at right back in his back four. With the Toffees seeming rejuvenated under Moyes, O'Brien's form has been hugely impressive and earned him a place in the Ireland starting XI.
O'Brien has sporting pedigree in his native Cork, with the Ireland defender well versed in Gaelic games and boxing from his youth.
He sat down with his Irish teammate Séamus Coleman for an interview with Everton's YouTube channel this week, with Coleman left stunned that he was unaware O'Brien had won an underage All-Ireland hurling medal.
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Jake O'Brien explains his hurling roots to Séamus Coleman
Marvel illustrator Will Sliney sat down with Everton's Ireland MNT duo Séamus Coleman and Jake O'Brien this week.
Naturally, given the trio are Irish, the subject of GAA came up, and O'Brien explained that he played hurling when he was younger - and even won an Ireland with Cork when he was 14.
I'm from Youghal in County Cork.
I played a lot of sports, I played Gaelic football, hurling, boxing. [I played] midfield [in hurling].
I think I was 14 [when I won the All-Ireland].
I was more of a hurling man than a football man. [We beat] Limerick maybe...nobody up north, anyway...
His teammate was stunned.
"You kept that quiet!" Coleman beside him quipped, surprised that O'Brien had managed to keep his All-Ireland-winning pedigree quiet.
O'Brien was a serious hurler in his youth. Will Varney, a soccer coach of the Everton star's youth, told the Cork Echo last year that O'Brien could easily have hurled for Cork at senior level had he not set his mind on soccer.
"Even when he was a kid, when he was 11 or 12, he knew what he wanted because he could have played hurling for Cork without a shadow of a doubt," Varney said, "He was that good.
"He knew he wanted to play soccer. He actually broke away and stopped playing GAA and focused professionally on becoming a soccer player."
The Rebels look to be one of the frontrunners for the All-Ireland this year, as they seek to end a 20-year drought since Liam MacCarthy was last in the county.
In an alternate universe, perhaps it's Jake O'Brien walking up the Hogan Stand steps to accept the trophy.
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