"Double what we paid for Ao Tanaka" - Apparent Leeds United transfer blow played down | OneFootball

FLW's Leeds United fan pundit believes missing out on Lewis O'Brien is not an issue for the club.

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…

A host of Championship clubs are poised to miss out on the capture of Nottingham Forest's Lewis O'Brien, including Leeds United.

He is not expected to make a return to English football following the conclusion of his loan spell with MLS outfit Los Angeles FC. Instead, the 26-year-old is set to sign permanently for LAFC, according to Alan Nixon via his Patreon page.

He is reporting the latest development regarding O'Brien's future, with LAFC set to land him in a £7 million deal. That will come as a blow to the likes of Leeds, Sheffield United and West Bromwich Albion, who had all been interested in acquiring his services according to prior reports, with Hull City also joining that particular race recently, as per Nixon.

After Nottingham Forest left him out of their plans, O'Brien decided to move back and play his trade in the United States on loan at LAFC from the Premier League side. With the chances of him winning much game time at Nottingham Forest appearing slim, he has been sent out on loan for a third time.

That's after a temporary spell at Middlesbrough last season. He first went on loan to DC United prior to joining Michael Carrick on Teesside, with LAFC his second MLS side in the last few seasons.

The Leeds United verdict of missing out on Lewis O'Brien

We asked FLW’s Leeds United fan pundit Kris Smith for his thoughts on potentially missing out and whether O'Brien was a player worth pushing the boat out for from a Leeds perspective.

He said: "If Ilia Gruev is out until something like March with this knee injury, which appears to be the case, then I think a new midfielder might be required in the New Year when we get to the January window.

"Looking at O'Brien, he probably would have been a solid way to resolve that issue for us and add a bit more depth.

"But at £7 million that he's going to LAFC for, I don't think that he is one that I would really lose sleep over.

"That's more than double what we paid for Ao Tanaka in the summer, and you would argue that Tanaka is double the player that Lewis O'Brien is.

"For me, there are no qualms over O'Brien going elsewhere for that fee, having been linked with us.

"For that price, you are hoping a player is able to translate to the top-flight if you get promoted.

"You're paying a lot of money there, and that player has to then work in the long-term.

"O'Brien didn't really cut it at Nottingham Forest when he signed for them, so it's hard to see that he'd be that player for us, even if he would be superb in the Championship."

Leeds' midfield depth without Lewis O'Brien

Meanwhile, Leeds' midfield injury crisis is well-documented following long-term setbacks to both Ethan Ampadu and Gruev. Although the free agent acquisition of Josuha Guilavogui should be a shrewd and sensible short-term signing.

That said, O'Brien is the superior player at this moment in time to the latter, and would bolster Daniel Farke's ranks. Midfield seems to be one of the strongest areas of the Leeds squad, with numerous options for the double-pivot.

They would be better off using that cash for an attacking differential, be that with an attacking midfielder or wide player with genuine creativity and match-winning ability. O'Brien would be more of the same kind of profile as the likes of Tanaka and Rothwell, so the latest developments are not a huge blow to their promotion chances.