Lewis O’Brien added another goal to his Wrexham tally as he opened the scoring against Derby County on Saturday afternoon.
It’s fair to say that Lewis O’Brien had an eventful afternoon in Wrexham’s 1-1 draw with Derby County.
The positive aspect is that O’Brien headed Wrexham in front, meeting Issa Kabore’s cross to open the scoring in front of the Tech End.
The other side is that O’Brien could have been sent off for a nasty-looking first-half challenge, which left Derby players surrounding the referee.
O’Brien escaped an early bath, with Rams boss John Eustace avoiding talking about the incident after the full-time whistle.
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Lewis O’Brien explains leaving Nottingham Forest for Wrexham
Saturday’s display saw O’Brien take his tally for the season to three goals in just seven Championship outings.
The 26-year-old is making a real impact from midfield and is certainly justifying Wrexham’s decision to bring him in.
Reports suggested that Wrexham couldn’t agree a deal with Nottingham Forest for O’Brien over the summer, and a deal appeared to be in jeopardy.
Wrexham managed to secure a deal for O’Brien, paying around £3million to bring the midfielder to North Wales.
O’Brien has now commented on his move to Wrexham, telling BBC Sport that it was the right time to leave Forest.
O’Brien joined Forest in the summer of 2022 and was sent out on loan four times before being sold to Wrexham.
Unsurprisingly, O’Brien wanted to find a real home and chose Wrexham, despite having other offers on the table.
O’Brien thinks he has made the right decision, with Phil Parkinson and other Wrexham players selling him on the move.
“I always wanted somewhere to call home,” said O’Brien. “When I spoke to the gaffer [Phil Parkinson] and to the people I knew who were already here, it was definitely a no-brainer to come here,” he said.
“Forest made it pretty obvious that it was time for me to leave the club, and I’d been on four loans. It was one of those where, now you look back on it, you’re very happy with the decision.
“It was time to leave, and it was nice to know I had the options to lay them out on the table and pick the one that was right for me. So far, it looks like this was the best one,” he added.
Swansea City’s loss is Wrexham’s gain with Lewis O’Brien
One of those other options on the table may have been Swansea City.
O’Brien spent the second half of last season on loan at Swansea and made a big impact in South Wales.
Swansea tried to sign O’Brien permanently, and even had ‘good conversations’ over a deal with Forest.
Wrexham won the race, though, and O’Brien will be wearing red when Parkinson’s side tackle Swansea in Welsh derbies this season.
That may sting for Swansea, but Wrexham are really reaping the benefits of O’Brien’s quality from midfield.