Swansea City: Finances of Nottingham Forest transfer revealed | OneFootball

Swansea City won the race to sign Lewis O'Brien on January deadline day

Swansea City will be paying up to £27,000 per week for Nottingham Forest loanee Lewis O’Brien for the remainder of the season following his deadline day move to South Wales.

According to Alan Nixon, the Swans agreed a loan switch that makes the midfielder their highest paid player (per estimated figures from Capology).

O’Brien completed the switch to Luke Williams’ side on deadline day, winning the race to his signature amid competition from a number of clubs.

He will be with City for the remainder of the Championship campaign before returning to the Tricky Trees in the summer, where he will still have a year to go on his contract.

Financial details emerge on Lewis O’Brien, Swansea City deal

It has been reported that Swansea were able to win the race to sign O’Brien by offering him the most money ahead of other Championship rivals.

It has been claimed that the £27,000 per week deal was far bigger than any offer made by their second tier clubs, and there were many in the battle for his services.

Nixon claimed that O'Brien was more keen on a move to Preston North End or Blackburn Rovers due to geographical reasons, but accepted a move to Swansea when they agreed to pay a high sum of his wages - Derby County also came in for the 26-year-old's services.

It is understood that some of the club’s owners were very impressed by the player’s performances in MLS with LAFC, which led to them pursuing the move to sign him for the Swans.

O’Brien will be hoping to make a positive impact during his time at Swansea, with the club hoping to avoid getting sucked into a relegation battle.

Williams has come under pressure in the dugout, so will need positive results soon otherwise he could be at risk of losing his position - and a 1-0 win over Bristol City was a perfect way to kick-start a potential positive run of form.

O'Brien made his debut in the middle of the park for Swansea alongside Goncalo Franco at Ashton Gate, putting in an assured performance and making sure the pain of losing long-serving Matt Grimes was short-lived.

The Forest man is set to be the short-term replacement for Swansea's former captain, but it could potentially become a long-term agreement if things go well for the ex-Huddersfield Town maestro, even without a purchase deal in the agreement.

Commitment to Lewis O'Brien deal by Swansea City owners puts pressure on Luke Williams

Swansea's owners may have only given Luke Williams two new players for the remainder of the season in January, but spending so much on O'Brien's wages is a clear commitment.

Defeating Bristol City is a good start to the post-transfer window run of form, but if Williams is unable to turn around the team’s form consistently over the next couple of weeks, then it’s very possible a change in manager will be made.

O’Brien is a good signing on paper and has previously performed well in the Championship, but he needs a good stint here in order to show he’s still capable of playing to a high standard at this level.

He has moved around a lot since joining Forest in 2022, so a good loan stint at Swansea could lead to the stability his career needs in 2025.