Championship News
Opinion: Huddersfield Town should still offload 23-year-old despite latest development with Nottingham Forest
Nottingham Forest’s move for Lewis O’Brien and Harry Toffolo from Huddersfield Town has collapsed according to The Athletic.
The U-turn in this transfer saga appears to have been brought about due to Toffolo’s personal terms, but with the deal being a double signing, it has also impacted O’Brien’s potential move to the Reds.
O’Brien has been left in a difficult situation, as per The Athletic, having arrived at Forest today to complete a medical and the media duties required for his signing to be announced.
The process seems to have been further down the line with the 23-year-old, and so far infact, that the move not going through at this late stage will have taken its toll mentally and emotionally on the player, should it not materialise before the season starts.
It seems like the Terriers were going to receive favourable compensation for both players, and O’Brien in particular.
Such that will not be possible if the 23-year-old returns to the club, and is unable to hit the heights he did last season due to his head already being turned.
O’Brien seemed destined for an exit at one stage last summer, and returned to the first team picture like nothing had happened, but this particular situation seems different.
The 23-year-old was one of the best performing midfielders in the second tier last term, and with the Terriers’ chances of building another promotion tilt looking unlikely since the departure of Carlos Corberan, O’Brien’s desire to depart may have increased.
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Huddersfield were also set to receive a hefty fee from Forest, that they would have been able to reinvest a portion of into their squad, and as a collective enter the season in better shape.
After the disappointment of the play-off final and Corberan’s departure, the Terriers need to bolster certain areas to give them a fresh outlook heading into the new season, clinging onto O’Brien when his desire to move to the Premier League is so clear, would be counter-productive.
Huddersfield will become one of the sides to watch out for in the final weeks of the transfer window, with ammunition in the form of a fee recouped from the sale of O’Brien.
