Sam Greenwood battles with Lewis O'BrienSam Greenwood battles with Lewis O'Brien
Sam Greenwood battles with Lewis O'Brien | CameraSport - Dave Howarth
Preston North End are reportedly rivalling Wrexham and Valencia for the midfielder
Preston North End are being linked with Nottingham Forest midfielder Lewis O’Brien once again.
The last two transfer windows have seen the Lilywhites credited with interestin the 26-year-old, and noise hasn’t gone away ahead of the summer window. It was reported over the weekend that Preston remain keen, with Wrexham and Valencia - managed by O’Brien’s old boss Carlos Corberan - eyeing moves as well.
Swansea City, whom the midfielder spent the second half of last season on loan with, have also been linked, along with Hull City. O’Brien scored one goal in 16 appearances for the Swans and has one more year left to run on his contract at the City Ground. Another move away this summer looks likely.
As far as interest from North End goes, though, there are obvious question marks. Back in January, a loan swoop proved too expensive for Preston to do. Manager Paul Heckingbottom is clearly an admirer of O’Brien but the wage contributions made by Swansea were out of PNE’s reach.
Speaking to theLancashire Post, after the January transfer window closed, PNE CEO Peter Ridsdale said: “If I'm sitting there just looking at the squad, apart from the fact that obviously Ben Whiteman’s injured, the one part of the field you could argue we are well supplied with options is midfield.
“And therefore, it was never a priority in terms of spending money in that position... particularly, if it was not for a permanent signing. Having said that, there was a particular player that the manager would have signed if he could have done. That player became unaffordable anyway, because of the deal that the club were insisting on.
“Irrespective of whether we'd done Ryan (Porteous) or not, we would not have been able to do the deal. It wasn't, in our opinion, value for money for a loan. It was way above anything that we pay any of our players in the squad... way above.”
Verdict on O’Brien speculation
Since then, Ryan Ledson has left North End but Jordan Thompson filled the void left in midfield. Preston made Thompson their first signing ahead of the 2025/26 season, following his exit from Stoke City.
With Sam Greenwood and Duane Holmes also gone from last season there are still vacancies in attacking midfield. While O’Brien can contribute in advanced positions, that is not his forte.
Heckingbottom now has Thompson on board along with Ben Whiteman, Ali McCann, Stefan Thordarson, Brad Potts and Mads Frokjaer. With recruits needed in several other positions, a move for O’Brien would come as a surprise.
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