Football
Exclusive: Swansea City Keen to Sign Lewis O'Brien For Second Spell, But Face Stiff Competition For His Signature
Swansea City are eager to re-sign Lewis O'Brien, facing tough competition from Birmingham, Wrexham, and Southampton. Valued at £7-8million, the midfielder struggled for playing time at Forest and had successful loan spells at Swansea, Middlesbrough, and LAFC. Forest are looking to cash in on him before he becomes a free agent.
Swansea City AFC v Derby County - Sky Bet Championship by Athena Pictures | Getty Images
Swansea City want to sign Lewis O’Brien for a second time, but the Swans face a real battle for his a signature, SportsBoom can exclusively reveal.
He is valued at between £7-8million, but promoted Birmingham and Wrexham are also interest in signing the player, with relegated Southampton having also been keeping tabs on the tough tackling midfielder as they look to make an immediate return to the top-flight.
O’Brien enjoyed a successful loan spell at the Liberty Stadium last season having found himself surplus to requirements at the City Ground.
The 26-year-old left-footer joined Forest in a joint £10million deal with wing-back Harry Toffolo from Huddersfield Town following the 2022 Championship play-off final.
Forest edged that fixture and moved quickly to sign arguably the Terriers most talented duo.
But O’Brien has struggled to cement a regular starting place with Forest and, after less than 12 months with the club, was due to be loaned to second tier side Blackburn Rovers which famously broke down after an embarrassing paperwork mix-up between the two clubs.
That meant O’Brien had to be left out of Forest’s squad for the whole of the season.
U.S. OPPORTUNITIES
Thankfully a deal with Major League Soccer outfit DC United provided the midfielder with the chance to play regular football.
He also went on loan to Middlesbrough as his Forest future became even bleaker, followed by a nine-game stint with Los Angeles FC last season where he featured in the side which won the US Open Cup, before the Swans came calling and he returned to the UK.
O’Brien played 16 games for the Welsh side and SportsBoom understands he would consider a second spell with the club.
He has one year left remaining on his current contract and Forest are understood to be keen to cash in on some of the transfer fee they paid before next summer when he becomes a free agent.
Neil has been a journalist for longer than he'd care to remember, having written for national newspapers and respected publications for over 25 years. For the last three years he has worked freelance for BBC Sport, working on the production desk as a sub-editor and also as a writer, covering a whole range of sports.