Lewis O’Brien: The stats behind Huddersfield’s key cog that have Leeds, Crystal Palace and Bournemouth circling | OneFootball

Huddersfield Town continue to retain one of the EFL’s hottest properties in the form of Lewis O’Brien.

Last summer saw Leeds United pursue a deal for the 23-year-old and ultimately fail, whilst reports previously have linked the likes of Crystal Palace and AFC Bournemouth with a move for the midfielder.

O’Brien has fuelled that by taking his game on under Carlos Corberan and playing a major role in helping Huddersfield compete for promotion in 2021/22. Town currently sit third in the table with 10 games remaining and, simply, anything is possible.

In 34 appearances this season, O’Brien has already matched his strongest return in terms of goals at Championship level, scoring three times whilst also registering two assists.

However, anybody that watches O’Brien regularly will know that his game is more than just productivity in the final third, despite him previously telling us it’s an area of his game he and Corberan are working on.

O’Brien possesses one of the best engines in the Championship. He runs for days in the midfield and you could completely understand why Leeds were interested in adding him to Marcelo Bielsa’s squad at one time.

That constant ball of energy, according to Wyscout, has attempted 4.23 dribbles per 90 minutes this season for Huddersfield, as well as making 2.21 progressive runs and winning almost 50% of his offensive duels.

The role O’Brien plays at Huddersfield, though, is not advanced despite working on his attacking game. He’s far more box-to-box.

Defensively, he wins 60% of his duels on average, as well as making 3.61 and 7.08 recoveries per 90.

In possession, O’Brien looks to be progressive, with half of his attempted passes either forwards, into the final third or into the penalty area. Huddersfield benefit from his bravery and willingness to play in the areas of the pitch where things might happen.

By O’Brien’s own admission, he’s still developing under Corberan and if you offered him doubling his goal involvements for the season between now and the end of the campaign, he’d tell you that would be ideal.

But admirers of O’Brien will like other traits of his: the lung-busting runs into the final third, the awareness to break things up defensively and the willingness to set the tempo. He’s the epitome of consistency in this Huddersfield side now, showcased by him ranking as their Player of the Season with .

They are all contributing factors to why he’s perhaps the most in-demand midfielder floating around the EFL at this moment in time. Football League World understand that it is Palace who are becoming more convinced about how O’Brien could elevate their team in the Premier League.

Whether it’s with Huddersfield Town or someone else, the Premier League is just around the corner.

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