Nottingham Forest are now eyeing up an international central defender as they prepare to wave goodbye to Moussa Niakhate.
The Senegalese defender has packed his bags in Nottingham and should be announced as a Lyon player imminently.
Niakhate has been the fall guy as Forest attempts to meet the latest round of PSR criteria and his sale has been largely beneficial.
His departure does leave Forest a little bit light when it comes to defenders though – with just Murillo, Willy Boly and Andrew Omobamidele now in the ranks.
With that in mind, it’s no surprise to hear that Forest are today being linked with a central defender.
Nottingham Forest want Lyon defender Jake O’Brien
This news comes courtesy of The Athletic reporter Adam Leventhal who has claimed a number of clubs are keen to sign the Lyon man.
O’Brien checked in with the French outfit back in August 2023 and enjoyed a pretty impressive maiden campaign with the club.
He made 32 appearances as Lyon enjoyed a second half of the season renaissance and ended up qualifying for Europe.
Furthermore, he scored five goals in all competitions and also registered a couple of assists despite playing as a centre-back.
O’Brien’s form earned him recognition on the international stage and he played twice for the Republic of Ireland last season too.
Signing the former Crystal Palace trainee won’t be easy for Forest with Lyon wanting around £17 million for his services.
Furthermore, a number of Premier League clubs are interested with West Ham and Everton also keen to sign the player this summer.
Any deal that does come to fruition this summer will see Palace earn 25% of the profit from any sale involving O’Brien.
O’Brien could star at the City Ground if Forest can sign him
Once again this would be another signing that sits well with the Forest fan base.
O’Brien is only 23-years-old and he has bags of potential that Forest will feel they can still tap into.
The Reds would be getting themselves a player who does excel more than Murill on one particular area.
Squawka shows that the latest player to be linked with the Reds won 44 aerial duels last season during 27 games in Ligue 1 for Lyon.
Murillo only managed 38 aerial wins from 32 appearances in the Premier League which makes for interesting reading.
The two defenders could make a useful partnership if Forest can get a deal for O’Brien over the line.
Murillo is never going to be dropped if he remains at the club due to his intelligent approach to defending.
Placing O’Brien next to him could give Forest a bit of aerial presence and perhaps he’d also increase the chances of the team becoming more competent at set-pieces too.
