Lewis O’Brien has admitted he endured a “tough summer” as speculation raged linking the Huddersfield Town midfielder with a move to the Premier League and Leeds United, speaking to the Yorkshire Post.
Putting pen to paper on a new deal that could keep him at the John Smith’s Stadium until 2025, the Colchester-born enforcer can afford to breathe a sigh of relief and draw a line under a transfer saga that took its toll.
As confirmed by Huddersfield chairman Phil Hodgkinson, Leeds made four bids for O’Brien before the September deadline – the biggest coming in at £13 million.
O’Brien was keen to seize the opportunity too.
A move to Elland Road, after all, would have seen the 22-year-old join forces with a coach who turned Kalvin Phillips from a Championship plodder into England’s player of the year.
Hodgkinson recalls: “Lewis said ‘of course I want to play in the Premier League and playing for someone like Bielsa with his reputation can only make me better – but I understand the offer’s got to be right for the football club.’
“We explained why (the offer) wasn’t acceptable to us and there was no negative response at all from Lewis.”
Will Leeds come back for Lewis O’Brien?
O’Brien, ever the professional, was never going to throw his toys out of the pram.
And with Huddersfield going strong under Bielsa’s former protege Carlos Corberan, the former Bradford City loanee is now looking to focus on what really matters.
“I’m delighted to sign a new contract. We seem to be going in the right direction and it’s something I wanted to commit to,” says O’Brien, who was also linked with a move to Crystal Palace in recent weeks.
“Obviously, summer was a hard time for everyone with all the speculation and news going around. Phil came out in the open and said what had happened over the summer to squash the speculation.
“I never kicked off about anything. It’s just the way football works and for me to sign a new deal now, I just think it is the right time and step in my career.”
O’Brien would have provided some valuable cover at the heart of a talented yet paper-thin Leeds midfield, one that remains over-reliant on the irreplaceable, irrepressible Phillips.
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