Premier League newcomers Sheffield United have reportedly seen a £3m bid for Nottingham Forest midfielder Ben Osborn rejected.
Nottingham Forest manager Sabri Lamouchi has admitted to the club’s official website that he is aware of interest from Sheffield United in midfielder Ben Osborn.
Forest have lost so many of their academy graduates in recent years with Jamaal Lascelles, Karl Darlow and Patrick Bamford all walking away before fulfilling their potential at the two time European champions.
Osborn has lasted far longer, making almost 250 appearances for the club he joined at the eight of eight. But with Sheffield United keen to sign the versatile midfielder, making a bid of £3 million that was rejected by Forest according to The Sun, it remains to be seen how much longer the 24-year-old stays in the East Midlands.
The Star claimed on Monday that Sheffield United were closing in on a deal after holding positive talks with Osborn over the weekend.
But there is still work to be done with Osborn playing, and impressing, in Forest’s 3-0 pre-season friendly defeat to Olympiakos 24 hours later.
And Lamouchi has now made it clear that he’d love to hang onto Osborn – though he knows that Sheffield United aren’t going to give up without a fight.
“I heard about Sheffield (United’s) interest,” said the former Rennes boss.
“But I can’t complain about his attitude. Ben’s doing a great job for us in training and in the game (against Olympiakos) he played well.
“I am happy with him. Of course I would like to see him stay.”
The chance to play Premier League football for the first time may be too good for Osborn to turn down, however, even if he will have to leave the club where he made his name to seal a move to the top tier.
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