This article is part of Football League World’s ‘The Verdict‘ series, which provides personal opinions from the FLW writers regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…

Southampton are eyeing a move for Huddersfield Town midfielder Lewis O'Brien, as per reports.

According to the Huddersfield Daily Examiner (print edition, 9th June, back page), the Saints, along with West Ham United and Crystal Palace, are considering making a move for the talented midfielder.

It is believed that the midfielder, who made 50 appearances in all competitions for the Terriers in 2021/22, has a £12 million pounds release clause in his contract.

With the above in mind, we asked three of our writers here at FLW for their thoughts on O'Brien being linked with a move to the London Stadium.

Toby Wilding

This is an interesting one to consider from a Southampton perspective.

O'Brien was a standout player for Huddersfield last season, with his influence in helping them all the way to the Championship play-off final suggesting he may be ready for the step up to the Premier League.

However, when you consider the options that Southampton currently have available to them in the centre of the park with the likes of James Ward-Prowse, Ibrahima Diallo, Oriol Romeu and Stuart Armstrong, you get the feeling they already have plenty of individuals who can fill O'Brien's combative midfielder role.

As a result, this may not need to be a priority for Southampton given they may need to strengthen more in other areas, although the 23-year-old's ability means he is one they should still be monitoring regardless.

 

 

Charlie Gregory

Southampton making a move for O’Brien would be an excellent move for player and club.

The Saints would be getting themselves a battling midfielder who has proven he can be one of the best in his position in the Championship. He’s levelled up Huddersfield’s midfield since he joined and there is no question he would improve the Premier League side’s midfield too.

It would give him the chance to show his worth in the top flight too, something that he is no doubt hoping for. It looks as though he would adapt with ease and it would be really interesting to see how he does there.

For the Terriers though, it would be a massive blow to their chances for another promotion push if he left them now.

Adam Jones

O'Brien has all the technical attributes needed to make the move to the Premier League - and he could be a good addition for the Saints.

Only 23, he could be a great long-term addition and would only become better with more top-flight experience under his belt, potentially enabling the Saints to sell him on for even more in the future.

But it could be argued that they need more established top-tier players considering how poorly they ended the 2021/22 campaign, with Ralf Hasenhuttl needing players to come in and adapt to the challenges of the division straight away.

It may take a while for the midfielder to adjust to life at a higher level, the only potential drawback of this signing.