Nottingham Forest defender set to be loaned out in January - Leeds United "showed interest" | OneFootball

Former Leeds United target Andrew Omobamidele is set to leave Nottingham Forest on loan in January.

Leeds United targeted a summer move for Nottingham Forest centre-back Andrew Omobamidele, with reports now outlining that he is available for a loan in January.

The 22-year-old has hardly featured this season for Forest after breaking through with Norwich City and a move could be in the offing, be that permanently or on loan, although the latter is more likely.

John Percy of The Telegraph is reporting that a few players could leave the City Ground on loan next month, including the Republic of Irish international. He is a target for numerous clubs when the window opens and was a player of interest to Leeds previously.

Omobamidele's development has perhaps stagnated following his move and a loan could be the ideal move for him and Forest. Omobamidele joined the Reds in the summer of 2023 from Norwich in a reported £11 million deal, but it simply hasn't worked out for him just yet.

A largely peripheral figure in the previous campaign, regular opportunities have proved even more difficult to come by this time around. He featured on 14 occasions last season, including 11 starts. This term, Omobamidele has played in just one match, as he played all 90 minutes of their EFL Cup defeat to Newcastle United back in August.

Leeds target Andrew Omobamidele made available for loan by Forest

Omobamidele certainly represents both an intriguing and attainable proposition for many second tier clubs, and has tangible credit in the bank at Championship level from his time at Norwich.

Still only 22 years of age, the defender has already represented the Republic of Ireland at senior international level on ten occasions, although his failure to make the most recent squad is a damning indictment of how desperately he needs a temporary move away from Nottingham Forest.

The Telegraph report states that he is a target for a number of clubs and goes on to say: "Leeds United showed interest in signing the centre-back in August, with manager Daniel Farke giving him his debut at former club Norwich City."

Of course, there is no timescale given as to when that interest was there, which could mean that talk quietened after Leeds acquired Joe Rodon's services on a permanent basis from Tottenham. However, recent developments regarding Max Wöber perhaps make the link a more interesting one.

Red Bull-owned clubs have also been mooted as options, with journalist Graeme Bailey sharing the latest via LeedsUnited.news that both Red Bull Salzburg and RB Leipzig could be keen on him. If that materialises, then Leeds would undoubtedly need an additional central defender.

Leeds should be at the front of the queue if he is available to second tier sides, partly so that no other promotion rival picks him up first. Not only is Omobamidele far stronger in possession than most of the other defenders at the club currently, excluding Pascal Struijk, but he is also more mobile as well.

That is something which could be useful for Leeds, although signing Omobamidele is almost certainly contingent on a departure like Wöber. His superior athleticism over the Austrian would be a must and an upgrade for Farke’s backline. Leeds lack recovery pace generally across their defence, which the Irishman would evidently add.

He is a defender that Farke knows well too, who evidently has an extremely high ceiling, but needs regular game time and refinement to get there. His composure at such a young age that is also impressive, with excellent ball-playing qualities.

Omobamidele is aerially commanding and far too good to be playing so little. He was hugely impressive for Norwich and a move back to the Championship appears the best bet for his career at this moment in time, be that to Leeds or elsewhere.