Wrexham are seeking a midfield addition, and Phil Parkinson appears to be pushing for Lewis O’Brien’s arrival from Nottingham Forest.
Phil Parkinson completed his second signing of the summer earlier this week as Danny Ward rejoined Wrexham.
Ward praised Rob McElhenney and Ryan Reynolds as he completed his Wrexham return, more than a decade since leaving for Liverpool.
The attention will now turn to more signings, with a midfielder seemingly high on the wish list.
Tom Cairney looks set to stay with Fulham, meaning Wrexham must move on from the pursuit of his signature.
Wrexham now want Lewis O’Brien, another left-footed midfielder who has played in the Premier League and the Championship.
Reports suggest Wrexham will launch a £5million bid for O’Brien in the hopes of reaching an agreement with Nottingham Forest.
O’Brien needs to leave Forest permanently this summer, having been out on loan four times in three years.
We spoke to Lee Clarke from Nottingham Forest News for some more information on O’Brien and a potential move to Wrexham.
Lewis O’Brien’s Forest career has only brought 13 Premier League appearances despite signing in 2022. What qualities have you seen from him in his limited playing time?
O’Brien carries the ball very well, and he’s equally not afraid to stick a tackle in. He’s what you’d consider a stereotypical box-to-box midfielder and is very decent at both ends of the pitch.
O’Brien has spent most of his Forest career out on loan, so where has it gone wrong for him at the City Ground?
He got really unlucky when the domestic action broke for the World Cup. He’d just become settled in the Forest team and had started to play well, but picked up an injury just before it and after recovering, he picked up an undisclosed illness, which saw him lose his place in the 25-man squad.
Reports suggest Forest want £8million for O’Brien, whereas Wrexham are looking to pay around £5million. What do you think would be fair value?
I think we might compromise at something in the middle. On one hand, Forest paid £10m, and in today’s market, that’s probably the going rate for a player who will comfortably be one of the best midfielders in the league. However, he has a year to run on his contract, and a £10m loss on the PSR spreadsheet wouldn’t be ideal in 12 months.
Do you think there is any chance of O’Brien staying with Forest through pre-season to try and impress Nuno, or is his time up?
Not a chance on this earth. O’Brien played in pre-season at Chesterfield last season but found himself on the fringes just days later. Forest have Ryan Yates, Ibrahim Sangare, Danilo and Nicolas Dominguez in their squad to compete for the shirt alongside Elliot Anderson, who is undroppable.
O’Brien is about as proven as they come in the Championship, but do you think he is the kind of signing to help take Wrexham to the next level?
Absolutely. Don’t get me wrong, I think given Wrexham’s ambitions, they would fancy a bigger name signing, say Jamie Vardy or someone of that ilk, to really get the juices flowing, but landing O’Brien would have to be viewed as a major coup for a team who were promoted just last season.