Leeds United now have the money to sign Nottingham Forest midfielder Lewis O’Brien having sold Tyler Adams to Bournemouth on Sunday (20 August) and must act quickly to secure his services.
Daniel Farke’s side managed to secure a slightly larger than anticipated fee of £23m for Adams, according to the Athletic as both clubs aimed to avoid any potential legal disputes and with the end of the transfer window closing in the Whites need to add to their ranks in midfield.
The Whites held an interest in Nottingham Forest’s O’Brien in the summer of 2022, with the Huddersfield Examiner (3 June, 2022, back page) reporting in their print edition it would take more than £15m for the Terriers to part way with the midfielder.
Instead, the 24-year-old joined Forest where he has struggled to make an impact at the City Ground and spent the second half of last season on loan with MLS club D.C. United in the hope of regular first-team football.
The Daily Mail reported on 6 August that Steve Cooper is looking to streamline his squad this summer having made 29 additions last season and O’Brien is one of many players who could depart this transfer window.
Sheffield United saw a loan request knocked back by Forest however, with the newspaper reporting on their website that it would take £10m for any potential suitors to secure the services of the 24-year-old before the deadline on 1 September.
With Leeds needing to add to their options in the middle of the park and now having an extra £23m at their disposal this summer, a move for O’Brien would make plenty of sense for all parties involved in the potential deal.
In what was a difficult campaign for the Whites in the Premier League last time out, Adams was one of Leeds’ best performers in the middle of the park but made it incredibly clear that he didn’t want to be plying his trade in the Championship this season.
O’Brien was excellent in the Championship with Huddersfield in his last season, lying in the 99th percentile of Championship midfielders for successful take-ons and the 90th for progressive carriers according to FBref.
In the middle of the park, O’Brien was an excellent destroyer in the middle third of the pitch, averaging 1.41 tackles per 90 minutes played in the middle of the park, a figure better than 92% of his positional peers in the division.
If the White is genuinely hoping to make an immediate return to the Premier League this season, the English midfielder would go a long way to helping that cause, especially having been first identified as a potential target by Marcelo Bielsa.
O’Brien is more than happy to ply his trade in England’s second tier (a characteristic that isn’t shared by the departing Adams) having tried to complete a loan deal to Blackburn Rovers last January, so a move to Elland Road would be of interest to him.
With the new funds at their disposal, Leeds should be reigniting their interest this summer.
In other Leeds United news, the Whites received millions more than planned from Bournemouth for Adams to avoid legal issues
