Swansea City urged to seal Nottingham Forest summer transfer agreement on one condition | OneFootball

Lewis O'Brien has impressed for the Swans since he joined on loan

This article is part of Football League World's 'Terrace Talk' series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more...

Swansea City have been urged to try and sign current loanee Lewis O'Brien on a permanent deal from Nottingham Forest in the summer transfer window, but only if they do not have to spend over the odds to do so.

O'Brien joined the Swans on loan from Premier League high-flyers Forest in the winter, with his last appearance for the Reds coming in January 2023, amid previous temporary spells with D.C. United, Middlesbrough and Los Angeles FC.

The 26-year-old midfielder was once a stand-out in the second-tier with Huddersfield Town as he helped them to the play-off final in 2022, but has had a tough time of it since his move to the City Ground that same summer.

Swansea won the race for his signature at the start of last month, amid links to the likes of Burnley, Hull City and Blackburn Rovers, and he has started brightly in South Wales despite Luke Williams being sacked just two weeks after his arrival.

Swansea City urged to land Lewis O'Brien deal for 2025-26 season

O'Brien slotted straight into Swansea's starting eleven upon his arrival against Bristol City last month as a direct replacement for the outgoing Matt Grimes, and he has not missed a single minute of Championship football since, with 90 minutes played in six consecutive outings.

The Swans have won three, drawn one and lost two of the matches he has played in so far, and he has struck up a decent partnership with key man Goncalo Franco at the base of midfield, which was on full show in their 1-0 victory over play-off chasers Middlesbrough last time out.

O'Brien's lack of recent game-time at Forest, who are now competing at the top of the Premier League under Nuno Espírito Santo, means his future at the City Ground looks uncertain.

He looks set to be available on a permanent transfer this summer, as a result, and FLW's Swansea fan pundit, Will Hughes, has urged his club to try and sign the 26-year-old on a full-time deal ahead of next season, as long as Forest do not try to demand a price more than what they think he is worth.

“If the price is right, then I would 100% consider us bringing Lewis O’Brien back on a permanent deal next season," Will told FLW.

“It’s a big ‘if’ whether we will or won’t, purely for the fact that I think Forest will ask for quite a bit of money. We are known for not spending over the odds.

“I’m not going to get my hopes up that we may get him on a permanent, but, for sure, if that is an option then I would 100% take him back. I think in the few games that he’s played, he has shown a lot of potential.

“He’s shown that he can do it at this level, which we already knew when he did it with Huddersfield, and I feel that he’s a lot more dynamic than what we had before in Matt Grimes.

“Grimes is obviously a fantastic player, but more like a quarterback (in that he) would come deep and spray passes. O’Brien can do that, but he’s a very good ball-carrier as well.

“He’ll pick it up from deep and drive forward, and I think he complements Goncalo Franco quite a lot as well. I’ve really enjoyed seeing them as the midfield two.

“If we can keep Franco, as that’s the big one next season, keeping hold of him for another year, and have him, O’Brien, we’ve got Melker Widell coming in as well…I think that’s a really strong midfield three.

“Questions will be asked over whether or not Joe Allen will continue or hang up his boots, and whether Jay Fulton will stick around as he’ll be in the last year of his contract. I think he will, as I don’t see many teams coming in for him.

“It’s a strong potential midfield, I will say that. It’s just a very big ‘if’ we are able to afford O’Brien. If there is another loan option there, then I fully would expect us to trigger that.

“I do rate Lewis O’Brien very highly. There are other options out there if we don’t get him, but I would certainly be very inclined to bring him back if the price is right.”

Lewis O'Brien looks to be enjoying his time at Swansea City

The mark of a player being happy at a particular club nowadays can often be measured by their activity and frequency of posts on their social media pages. O'Brien has taken to both X and Instagram on numerous occasions since he joined the club to connect with their supporters after wins.

He has played a pivotal part in their recent upturn of form under interim boss Alan Sheehan, and his delight at his own recent strong performances, as well as his good rapport with his new teammates, was evident to see in his recent interview with Swansea's media channels ahead of their trip to Watford in midweek.

“It’s a really good feeling at the moment around the club," he told SwanseaCity.com.

"We’ve found something in our games that has helped us get those wins at home, the fans have been great getting behind us so it’s a really good feeling.

“There’s good confidence building in the group, taking three clean sheets in the last three games and winning two of them means the confidence is up and sometimes having games come as quick and as fast as they are is a good thing.

"We want to keep building some momentum. It’s a collective effort from everyone from front to back.

"We’ve found some grit and guile that we were probably missing from other games, we’re getting the results and the fans have been our 12th player, particularly when we have tough periods in games and it gives us that extra energy.

“The lads are great and we’ve all been in good spirits, obviously getting the wins brings it up even more so everyone’s buzzing.”

It certainly seems like O'Brien is enjoying his football again in South Wales, after having to go on loan to the MLS to get game-time on two separate occasions over the last 18 months, and also failing to find his feet in his time at Middlesbrough.

Swansea certainly look set to have a better chance than most of signing the Colchester-born midfielder this summer, if he is to leave the East Midlands permanently, but the fee that Forest demand could well be a stumbling block, given that his contract there does not expire for another year.