An update has emerged on Leeds United’s pursuit of Huddersfield’s Lewis O’Brien heading into the summer transfer window.
What’s the talk?
According to The Sun, Whites chief Victor Orta is plotting a fresh £10m bid to sign the midfielder ahead of the 2022/23 campaign, after missing out on a deal for him last year.
The report claimed that his current club would attempt to offer him a new contract if they won the play-off final but they went on to lose 1-0 to Nottingham Forest at Wembley.
Big Mateusz Klich upgrade
Leeds can land a big upgrade on the Poland international by bringing O’Brien to Elland Road in the upcoming window.
In the Premier League, Klich averaged an unimpressive SofaScore rating of 6.67 in 33 appearances as he lost 60% of his duels. He failed to turn in good performances on a regular basis and struggled with the physicality of the games, which is why he is currently a weakling in the side.
O’Brien, meanwhile, won 56% of his individual battles in the Championship – winning 7.5 duels per game – and has earned a reputation for being a battler in the middle of the park.
Former Huddersfield goalkeeper Matt Glennon previously lauded the midfielder’s engine, saying: “He closes down until the 95th, 96th minute, still running to the corners, stopping defenders, he’s got unlimited energy.
“Lewis O’Brien wants to put the hard yards in and wants to be at the very top of where he can get to. He’s one of those lads who works ridiculously hard which, for me, is your minimum in any league, but he’s got that quality, the drop of a shoulder, that strength to keep people off him, a low centre of gravity to glide past people, arm aloft when they try to knock him off the ball.”
The gem also impressed in possession as he chipped in three goals and three assists as he created 1.0 chances per game. This is along with his 3.0 tackles and interceptions per match and an excellent average SofaScore rating of 7.00.
He has shown, albeit in the second tier, that he can excel as a box-to-box midfielder and he has plenty of room left to grow at the age of 23. Marsch can work with him over time to help him fulfill his potential but, in the short-term, his statistics suggest that he can be an immediate upgrade on Klich.
O’Brien can offer a level of physicality that the Poland international has been unable to provide, whilst also possessing the quality on the ball to function as part of the team on the ball.
AND in other news, Orta eyeing Leeds swoop for “exceptional” £20k-p/w “example”, Marsch needs him badly…
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