Nottingham Forest could sanction midfielder transfer before January window deadline
Nottingham Forest are likely to field more interest in midfielder Lewis O'Brien before the deadline at the end of this January transfer window. O'Brien recently returned from his second MLS loan spell, this time with Los Angeles FC who finished third overall in the recently ended season.
O'Brien played 12 times for LAFC, with his final appearance being in the narrow defeat to Seattle at the end of November. LA had the option to make the move a permanent arrangement but don't appear to have taken up that chance and O'Brien is set for another move away from the City Ground this month.
The former Huddersfield captain, who joined Forest with Harry Toffolo in the summer of 2022 after the club's promotion back to the Premier League - at the Terriers' expense - has struggled to make an impression in the two and a half years since; he's been loaned out to DC United and Middlesbrough in that time and came close to joining Blackburn, too.
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Now, the Sun reports that Preston North End are keen on bringing O'Brien back to the Championship and offering him the opportunity to play regularly in England again. The 26-year-old still has 18 months remaining on his Forest contract and while he is unlikely to get a look in under Nuno Espirito Santo at the moment, another loan beckons.
The Sun claims that Forest would even entertain the idea of paying half of O'Brien's wages if it frees him up to move on again. Preston boss Paul Heckingbottom was supposedly keen on signing O'Brien when he was manager of Sheffield United and is exploring the possibility of bringing his target to Deepdale now.
Nuno has Elliot Anderson, Ryan Yates and James Ward-Prowse among his midfield options, while pair Danilo and Ibrahim Sangare are also long-term injury absentees who ought to be closer to returning to availability in the near future.
