With the Saints ideally needing a left-footed attack-minded midfielder for more balance, Lewis O’Brien would be an ideal transfer target
- Southampton are set to lose their long-serving midfielder James Ward-Prowse to West Ham for a £30 million fee.
- The club needs to replace Ward-Prowse with a midfielder who can contribute goals and assists.
- Lewis O’Brien from Nottingham Forest could be a suitable replacement, as he has experience in the Championship and is currently not in Forest’s plans.Southampton are on the verge of the end of an era this week as their long-serving midfielder James Ward-Prowse is set to move on to pastures new.
The Saints had done well to not lose any players of significant value up until the start of August, with new head coach Russell Martin having a strong squad to work with ahead of the season opener against Sheffield Wednesday – which they won 2-1.
But in the build-up to that clash, an offer was accepted from Newcastle United for Tino Livramento in the first sign that the Premier League vultures were about to circle with the start of their own seasons upcoming.
And true to form, the next significant outgoing is close to being confirmed, and it is going to sting for supporters but Ward-Prowse deserves to be playing at the highest level.
The 11-cap England international assisted Che Adams’ winning goal against Wednesday on Friday night and that looks like it was his final contribution for the club, with a £30 million fee agreed with West Ham for his services.
With Southampton lacking options in the midfield area, it is imperative that they replace Ward-Prowse with someone who can bag goals and assists from the middle of the park, and judging by how Martin played against Wednesday, his replacement would accomodate one of the two ‘half-space’ positions in midfield ahead of Will Smallbone in the pivot.
James McAtee has been linked in what would be yet another swoop on Man City to add to the likes of Romeo Lavia, Juan Larios, Samuel Edozie, Gavin Bazunu and Shea Charles – not to mention director of football Jason Wilcox – but Premier League clubs are keen on the attacking midfielder as well as top flight outfits abroad, so it would be unlikely that the 20-year-old arrives at St Mary’s Stadium.
A left-footed midfielder though would add more balance in the midfield areas with Charly Alcaraz being a right-footer, and that is why Southampton should move for Nottingham Forest’s Lewis O’Brien as soon as they can.
Who is Lewis O’Brien?
An academy graduate of Huddersfield Town, O’Brien gained experience on loan at Bradford City before establishing himself at the Terriers.
The 24-year-old had three full Championship seasons with Town, and whilst he was never prolific in terms of goals and assists, O’Brien was a driving force from midfield, especially in 2021-22 as Carlos Corberan’s side made the second tier play-off final.
His performances for the West Yorkshire outfit led to Nottingham Forest paying £10 million (a joint deal which also saw Harry Toffolo move to the City Ground) for his services after 131 matches played for Town, but life at the Tricky Trees hasn’t been so rosy for the midfielder
What is Lewis O’Brien’s current situation at Nottingham Forest?
O’Brien started in Forest’s opening few matches in the Premier League last season following his move from Huddersfield, but he soon dropped out of Steve Cooper’s plans and became a bench player.
It looked as though O’Brien was set to get regular game-time in the second half of the season with Blackburn Rovers after he fell out of favour at Forest, but the deal fell through at the last moment and in a very protracted saga, the Championship outfit failed in an appeal to get him registered after a month’s worth of trying.
