Transfer news as West Brom appear to jump to front of queue to sign Lewis O’Brien
West Brom appear to have “jumped to the front of the queue” for the signature of Lewis O’Brien despite Steve Cooper’s insistence he won’t be leaving Nottingham Forest, according to The Athletic.
Carlos Corberan has been in the market for a midfielder in the closing stages of the January transfer window, with O’Brien [The Athletic, 28 January] and Nathaniel Chalobah [Daily Mail, 28 January] both seen as viable options.
The Nottingham Forest midfielder has fallen out of favour at the City Ground this season in the Premier League, making just 13 appearances and scoring one goal.
The Athletic report said: “Though Cooper played down the possibility of his departure, it appears Albion have jumped to the front of the queue for his signature in recent days and are in talks to sign before Tuesday’s deadline.
“His most recent appearance was in Forest’s 4-1 defeat to Blackpool, where he played 68 minutes.”
Great option
This is a deal that the Baggies should look to get over in the last two days of the transfer window to bolster their options in the middle of the park.
O’Brien has struggled to impact proceedings at the Premier League outfit this season due to the ridiculous amount of players brought into the club since last summer, but he possesses the quality to start for the Baggies on a regular basis.
The 24-year-old has also played under Carlos Corberan at Huddersfield Town, so he would have no issues adapting to his playing style, while would also arrive at Hawthorns with Premier League experience.
As a backup to the likes of Jayson Molumby and Okay Yokuslu, the Forest player looks the perfect fit. The demands being placed on the Baggies’ starting two midfielders showed during the 3-0 loss to Bristol City in the FA Cup, and the club must now be worried about burning them out unnecessarily in the latter stages of the season.
In other West Brom news, Celtic accepted an offer from the Baggies for this January signing.