Leeds United battle Middlesbrough, Ipswich Town and Coventry City for Lewis O’Brien as Nottingham Forest want to sell
Leeds United are facing increasing competition for Nottingham Forest’s Lewis O’Brien with three Championship rivals joining the race for the midfielder, according to Alan Nixon.
The Sun journalist reported on his Patreon Monday (28 August) that all four clubs have made loan approaches for the 24-year-old but none a willing to commit to buying him outright, either now or at the end of a temporary move.
According to Nixon Forest may be forced to do the best deal available to them before the deadline either way or face excluding O’Brien from the squad once more.
The former Huddersfield Town man saw a loan to Blackburn Rovers fall through in January and was subsequently omitted from the Premier League squad under Steve Cooper before eventually getting a short-term move to DC United in MLS.
Nixon previously reported via Patreon on 22 August that Sheffield United had failed to do a deal but Leeds could get O’Brien for £10million.
High stakes
Midfield remains a priority for Daniel Farke at Elland Road and bids have variously gone in for a number of targets to add to his ranks.
But it appears that nobody values O’Brien at the same price Forest did when they bought him last summer, which since they were prepared to jettison him after half a season is perhaps no surprise.
This pursuit has all the signs of one that will go down to the wire on deadline day with every interested party hoping his club will blink and accept a loan or a cheap deal.
Perhaps the Whites can sneak in and snap him up at that point but it would be incredibly risky to abandon other plans in the hopes of pulling that off.
So if Leeds United press ahead with alternative deals they may end up out of the running for the Englishman when it comes to decision time on 1 September.
O’Brien would certainly be a useful addition having proven his quality in the Championship at Huddersfield, but his Premier League move has seen him lose his way.
Elland Road might be the place for him to get back on track but it looks like it is going to take the Whites putting cash on the table or Forest giving in.
In other Leeds United news, an “extraordinary transfer story” has taken another unexpected turn and might now see an international arrive before the deadline with a deal already agreed.
