Josh O'Brien

Josh O'Brien
O'Brien playing for Salford in October 2022
Personal information
Full name Joshua Manfred O'Brien
Date of birth (2003-02-07) 7 February 2003
Place of birth Dublin, Ireland
Position Defender
Team information
Current team
 Indy Eleven
Number 5
Youth career
20??–2020 Seattle Sounders FC
2020–2021 De Anza Force
2021–2022 Watford
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2022–2023 Salford City 2 (0)
2022–2023 → Telford United (loan) 10 (1)
2023–2024 Hamilton Academical 8 (0)
2024– Indy Eleven 62 (5)
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 19:30, 26 October 2025 (UTC)

Joshua Manfred O'Brien (born 7 February 2003) is an Irish professional footballer who plays as a defender or midfielder for USL Championship club Indy Eleven.

Early life

O'Brien was born in Dublin, but moved to the United States at ten weeks old due to a change in his father's job.[1] O'Brien's father is Irish and his mother, Nicole, is German.[1] O'Brien has four brothers; Aran represented Santa Clara University and Ethan played for the University of Notre Dame.[1] O'Brien was educated at Eastside Catholic in Washington state and Archbishop Mitty in California.[1]

Career

Youth career

O'Brien began his career with the Crossfire academy, though moved to Northern California to join developmental team De Anza Force in 2020.[1] He attended the University of Washington, but in 2021 put his studies on hold to join English Premier League club Watford on a one-year contract (with the option of a further year) following a successful trial.[1] O'Brien had been recommended to the club by the brother of Northern Ireland international George Saville.[1] O'Brien was released by Watford in the summer of 2022 and joined the development squad at Salford City of EFL League Two.[2]

Professional career

O'Brien made his senior debut for Salford on 30 August 2022, playing the full ninety minutes of a 2–1 win over Liverpool U21 at Moor Lane,[3] and his first league start came against Northampton Town, keeping a clean sheet in a 1–0 win at Sixfields.[4] On 12 December he joined Telford United on loan.[5]

O'Brien joined Scottish League One side Hamilton Academical in August 2023, making 10 total appearances for the South Lanarkshire club.[6]

On 1 February 2024, Indianapolis-based club Indy Eleven announced the signing of O'Brien ahead of the 2024 USL Championship season.[7] The USL Championship club's owners had been interested in signing O'Brien since he joined Watford's development squad in 2021.[8] O'Brien made his first appearance with the Eleven in their 2–1 season opening defeat against Oakland Roots as a substitute in the 75th minute, replacing Younes Boudadi.[9] O'Brien scored his first goal for the Eleven on 1 June in a 2–1 away win against Pittsburgh Riverhounds.[10] On 20 November 2024, Indy Eleven announced O'Brien would return for the 2025 season.[11]

O'Brien scored his first goal of the 2025 season, and second for Indy Eleven, in a 1–1 draw against Birmingham Legion FC on 28 June in the USL Cup.[12]

Personal

O'Brien's brother, Ethan O'Brien, is also a professional footballer, with the brothers playing together at Indy Eleven in 2024.[13]

Career statistics

As of match played 2 August 2025.[14]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National cup[a] League cup[b] Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Salford City 2022-23 League Two 2000002[c]040
Telford United (loan) 2022-23 National League North 10100—1[d]0111
Hamilton Academical 2023-24 Scottish League One 8000002[e]0100
Indy Eleven 2024 USL Championship 25150—00301
2025 USL Championship 21 0 2 0 5 1 0 0 28 1
2026 USL Championship 3 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 5 0
Total 69 2 9 0 5 1 0 0 88 2
Career total 882905150883
  1. ↑ Includes FA Cup, Scottish Cup, U.S. Open Cup
  2. ↑ Includes EFL Cup, Scottish League Cup, USL Cup
  3. ↑ Appearance(s) in EFL Trophy
  4. ↑ Appearance(s) in FA Trophy
  5. ↑ Appearance(s) in Scottish Challenge Cup

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Leventhal, Adam (6 August 2021). "Josh O'Brien, the Irish-American who went on trial at Watford and ended up winning a pro deal". The Athletic. Retrieved 10 December 2022.
  2. ↑ "Josh O'Brien". Salford City Football Club. Retrieved 10 December 2022.
  3. ↑ "EFL Trophy (Sky Sports)". Sky Sports. Retrieved 10 December 2022.
  4. ↑ Cox, Lewis (20 December 2022). "Kevin Wilkin hoping Telford loanee will be success". Shropshire Star. Retrieved 7 January 2023.
  5. ↑ "Josh O'Brien joins AFC Telford United on loan". Salford City Football Club. Retrieved 4 January 2023.
  6. ↑ McGilvray, Andy (2023-08-05). "Hamilton Accies boss not finished in transfer market despite double signing". Daily Record. Retrieved 2024-02-01.
  7. ↑ "Indy Eleven Announces Addition of Defender Josh O'Brien". Indy Eleven. Retrieved 2024-02-01.
  8. ↑ Healy, Tommy. "Irish American defender Josh O'Brien signs with USL Championship team Indy Eleven". extratime.com. Retrieved 2024-02-01.
  9. ↑ "Recap - OAK 2:1 IND". Indy Eleven. Retrieved 2024-03-13.
  10. ↑ "RECAP - PIT 1:2 IND". Indy Eleven. Retrieved 2024-06-03.
  11. ↑ "Indy Eleven Announces Returnees for 2025". Indy Eleven. Retrieved 2024-11-20.
  12. ↑ "Jägermeister Cup Recap-IND 1(7):1(6) BHM". Indy Eleven. Retrieved 2025-07-07.
  13. ↑ "Indy Eleven Announces Signing of Notre Dame Standout Ethan O'Brien". Indy Eleven. Retrieved 2024-03-19.
  14. ↑ Josh O'Brien at Soccerway. Retrieved 20 February 2025.
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