Nottingham Forest midfielder Lewis O’Brien has been subject to significant transfer speculation this summer and thePremier League side have slapped their price tag on the midfielder.
Forest are reportedly setting an asking price of £8 million for clubs to secure the services of the 26 year old. League One champions Birmingham City have shown interest in the midfielder as well as Southampton and Hull City.
Who is Lewis O’Brien?
O’Brien began his youth career in Yorkshire with Huddersfield Town in 2009. After progressing through their youth system, the midfielder went on to make over 100 appearances for the Terriers.
After helping Huddersfield reach theChampionship play-off final, O’Brien left Yorkshire and joined Nottingham Forest in 2022. Despite the promise shown, the midfielder’s time at the City Ground has been a disaster and he has only featured 19 times during his three year period at the club.
During this time, the former Huddersfield youngster has had loan spells with MLS side D.C United, Middlesborough and most recently Swansea City. With this in mind, Lewis O’Brien is likely to be keen on a permanent move away from the Premier League club in order to kick-start his career again.
Despite this, Nottingham Forest havereportedly placed an £8 million price tag on the 26 year old. This valuation will now leave O’Brien’s future in the hands of the trio of clubs chasing his signature.
Why are the trio of clubs after the Nottingham Forest midfielder?
O’Brien’s performances during his most recent loan spell at Swansea has seen Birmingham City, Southampton and Hull City ramp up their interest in the midfielder. During his three month loan spell in South Wales, the midfielder made 16 appearances and scored one goal.
The 26 year old was a key component in the Swansea midfield and provided defensive solidity for the Swans. O’Brien won 76.7% of tacklesattempted and made an average of five ball recoveries per 90 minutes on average showcasing his ability to win possession back for his team.
On top of his ability to break up opposition attacks, the midfielder allowed Swansea to build their attacks from deep. Over the last year, the 26 year old has had a 78.7% passing accuracy and completed an average of 4.86progressive passes per 90 minutes.
In addition, O’Brien completed 1.68 progressive carriers per 90 minutes on average and has a 60% dribble success rate. These attributes allowed the Swans to transition between defence and attack.
These impressive attributes have led to interest from numerous clubs but questions will be asked now on who is willing to meet Nottingham Forest’s valuation of the midfielder.
What next for Lewis O’Brien?
As mentioned, Birmingham City, Southampton and Hull City are all vying for O’Brien’s signature ahead of the 2025-26 season. With his attributes in mind, a move to St Andrews and Chris Davies’ side may be the most suitable for the midfielder.
Having won promotion fromLeague One last season, the Blues are on an upwardly mobile curve under Knighthead Capital Management. The style of play adopted by Birmingham may suit O’Brien.
The League One champions predominantly deployed a 4-2-3-1 formation which is the same that he featured in during his loan spell at Swansea. The Nottingham Forest midfielder would be able to slot into one of the two deeper midfield positions which would be a familiar position for him.
On top of this, the style of play that Birmingham have adopted under Davies would suit O’Brien’s attributes. Chris Davies’ side were the highest ranked for average possession and accurate passes per match in League One with 66.9% and 478.2 passes per 90 minutes.
Despite the increased price tag slapped on O’Brien by Nottingham Forest, the Blues will have money to spend and may see his signing as a good investment for the future. Having had some experience of playing in the Premier League and entering the peak age of his career, O’Brien could be viewed as a key component of the Birmingham midfield for a number of years should he make the move to St Andrews.