"Not a huge fan" - Burnley urged club to avoid Nottingham Forest transfer | OneFootball

FLW's Burnley fan pundit has given his verdict on the club's potential pursuit of Lewis O'Brien

FLW’s Burnley fan pundit is not keen on the club’s potential pursuit of Nottingham Forest midfielder Lewis O’Brien.

According to journalist Pete O’Rourke, the Reds have received loan offers from three clubs this summer amid a lack of game time at the City Ground.

Burnley face competition from Sheffield United and MLS outfit LAFC in the race to his temporary signature.

O’Brien has fallen down the pecking order at the Premier League side, and was loaned out to Middlesbrough last season in order to get regular minutes.

He featured 23 times in the Championship for Michael Carrick’s side, starting 18 of those appearances (all stats from Fbref).

Lewis O’Brien Burnley transfer verdict

FLW’s Burnley fan pundit Ben Livingstone believes that the Clarets should be targeting other players if they are recruiting for a midfielder.

He is sceptical whether the 25-year-old could recapture his career-best form from his time at Huddersfield Town, and believes other players should be prioritised instead.

“I don’t think it would be that great of a signing, to be honest,” Livingstone told Football League World.

“I’m not a huge fan.

“He had a great season when he was at Huddersfield, but apart from that he’s not done anything.

“He got his move to Nottingham Forest, and ended up not even being registered in the squad.

“So, for me, I don’t think we need a centre-midfielder unless you’ve got some outgoings.

“We’ve got Cullen, Berge, Brownhill, Ramsey can play in midfield, maybe one more addition would be good, but he’d be on good wages at Forest as well so it’s not like he’d be cheap.

“If you can get him back to his old Huddersfield form then fantastic, but I just can’t see him replicating that for us.

“So, personally, I don’t think he’d be that great for us.

“I think there’s better options out there, especially with it being on a loan move, do you really want a loan move for someone who’s 25 now? He can be a really good player at this level, but he’s only shown that over one season, really.

“He made the step up to the Premier League, and couldn’t really do it.

“But we’re talking about the Championship and at the minute, so he’s only done it once, but other than that he’s not been fantastic, wasn’t great at Boro, he wasn’t anything special.

“I think there’s better options we could get on a permanent [transfer].”

Lewis O'Brien's importance to Nottingham Forest

O’Brien was a key part of the Huddersfield side that reached the play-off final in 2022, which they lost to Nottingham Forest.

The defeat led to the player making the switch to the Reds ahead of their return to the Premier League.

However, he has made just 13 appearances in the top flight since completing that move, leading to speculation over his future this summer.

Clubs have until 30 August to complete a deal to sign the player before the window shuts for the remainder of the calendar year.

O’Brien could be of use to Scott Parker

While O’Brien might not be at his best form for a couple of seasons now, he could still be a useful player to have in the squad.

Burnley have options in midfield, but adding some depth on loan might be the kind of padding that Parker wants.

It would be a relatively risk-free transfer for the Lancashire outfit given it will be on loan, and it’s not an area where he will be forced into major minutes.