Crystal Palace and Leeds now have a second chance to sign Lewis O’Brien as Nottingham Forest put him up for sale.
What’s the story?
Well, it was TEAMtalk who claimed that Crystal Palace and Leeds wanted to sign the 24-year-old from Huddersfield back in the summer.
Unfortunately for Patrick Vieira and Jesse Marsch, O’Brien eventually joined Nottingham Forest in a £10m deal.
Now, however, Crystal Palace and Leeds have another chance to sign him.
The Mirror believe Nottingham Forest have put O’Brien and Harry Toffolo – who also joined from Huddersfield – on the market as they attempt to trim their bloated squad to comply with Premier League rules.
After the arrivals of Chris Wood, Danilo and Gustavo Scarpa this month, Steve Cooper must attempt to offload some players having made 25 signings since winning the Championship play-off final back in May.
Premier League clubs are permitted to submit their updated 25-man squad lists when the transfer window ends, and Nottingham Forest risk upsetting a few first-team stars due to their bloated amount of options.
Crystal Palace should bid for O’Brien with Leeds occupied
In our view, Crystal Palace should make an offer for O’Brien with Leeds prioritising a deal for Juventus maestro Weston McKennie – according to Fabrizio Romano.
The south Londoners are lacking an effective midfield partner for Cheick Doucoure after James McArthur suffered a serious injury and Conor Gallagher returned to Chelsea at the end of his loan spell.
Jeffrey Schlupp has struggled in the middle of the park, while Vieira even brought 17-year-old David Ozoh on ahead of Luka Milivojevic and Jairo Riedewald in the 0-0 draw against Newcastle last time out.
Therefore, a deal for O’Brien would make plenty of sense, and we would presume that Nottingham Forest will be happy to make their £10m back given the circumstances, so the move wouldn’t break the bank for Vieira.
Be sure to keep an eye on this situation, as the Englishman could already be leaving the City Ground.
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