Introduction
Aiden Antony O'Brien (born 4 October 1993) is a professional footballer who plays for Millwall as a striker.
Career
Born in Islington, London, O'Brien started his career in the youth system at Millwall and signed his first professional contract in 2010 on his 17th birthday. He made his debut for the club in the League Cup third round 5–0 defeat to Wolverhampton Wanderers, coming on as a substitute for Dany N'Guessan. On 1 January 2012, O'Brien signed for Conference South side Staines Town on a one-month loan.
A month later, Aiden signed for Conference Premier side Hayes and Yeading on a one-month loan and immediately found himself playing games.
In May 2014 O'Brien agreed a new two-year deal with Millwall with the 20-year-old being highly regarded by Millwall boss Ian Holloway and is expected to feature more prominently in his first-team plans next season.
O'Brien made his first appearance of the season coming on as a substitute for Richard Chaplow against Southampton in the League Cup. The game finished 2–0 to the saints. A month later he then made his first league appearance for Millwall in the 3–1 defeat to Birmingham City. O'Brien spoke of his delight of fulfilling a lifelong ambition when he made his league debut for Millwall and has dedicated the achievement to his father.
Career statistics
Club
- As of match played 21 December 2016
| Club | Season | League | FA Cup | League Cup | Other[A] | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Millwall | 2011–12 | Championship | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 1 | 0 | |
| 2014–15 | Championship | 19 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 20 | 2 | ||
| 2015–16 | League One | 43 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 8 | 2 | 53 | 13 | |
| 2016–17 | League One | 19 | 8 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 26 | 10 | |
| Total | 81 | 20 | 4 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 11 | 2 | 100 | 25 | ||
| Staines Town(loan) | 2011–12 | National League South | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| Hates & Yeading(loan) | 2011–12 | Blue Sq. Premier | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 7 | 0 | |
| Crawley Town(loan) | 2012–13 | League One | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 9 | 0 | |
| Aldershot Town(loan) | 2013–14 | Football Conference | 5 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 5 | 3 | |
| Torquay United(loan) | 2013–14 | League Two | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 3 | 0 | |
| Career total | 107 | 23 | 4 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 12 | 2 | 127 | 28 | ||
- A. ^ The "Other" column constitutes appearances and goals in the FA Trophy, Football League play-offs and Football League Trophy .
International career
On 6 February 2013 O'Brien scored on his debut for the Republic of Ireland U21s against Netherlands in a 3–0 win at Tallaght Stadium. O'Brien then scored his first competitive goal and his third goal for Ireland in 4–1 away win against the Faroe Islands. On 15 November 2013, O'Brien bagged another international brace against Faroe Islands in a high scoring 5–2 win at The Showgrounds.
O'Brien has scored five times for the 21s and is two off Robbie Brady's all time goal scoring record with seven.