Sheffield United and Middlesbrough 'interested' in Nottingham Forest man previously targeted by Leeds United

The 25-year-old, a product of Huddersfield Town’s academy, has just completed a season on loan at Middlesbrough having been deemed surplus to requirements at Forest.

Despite a lengthy lay-off keeping him out for a significant portion of the campaign, O’Brien racked up 23 appearances in the Championship under Michael Carrick. According to reporter Alan Nixon on his Patreon page, Middlesbrough would like to bring him back to the Riverside.

However, Preston North End are also said to be keen on striking a loan deal if Alan Brown departs Deepdale, while Sheffield United are also named as an interested party. The report claims relegation to the Championship for Forest would make a deal easier to do.

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O’Brien has been on Forest’s books since 2022, when he left Huddersfield to seal a permanent move to the City Ground. He had been strongly linked with Leeds United, with former Whites boss Marcelo Bielsa said to be an admirer of the midfielder’s talents.

Links to O’Brien resurfaced last summer with Leeds back in the Championship but a switch to Elland Road never materialised.

The 25-year-old also counts Bradford City among his former clubs and it was loan spell with the Bantams that proved to be the catalyst for his Huddersfield breakthrough.