Lewis O’Brien progressed through the Huddersfield Town Academy into the club’s first team set-up.
The midfielder won the Huddersfield Town Academy Player of the Year award twice in a row prior to his productive loan stint with Bradford City in League One back in the 2018–19 season.
After being promoted to the first team, O'Brien has emerged as one of the top midfielders in the Championship over the past 18 months. Last season, he had one of his best seasons to date.
O’Brien’s style of play
O'Brien has been Steve Cooper's top midfield target as he awaits Erik Ten Hag's evaluation of James Garner, who left Forest for his parent club Manchester United after the team's promotion.
O'Brien and Garner are similar in that they share the quality of being high-energy players that effectively advance their teams up the pitch.
The 23-year-old's prowess in transition is highlighted by the fact that just four Championship players won more tackles than O'Brien did last season, while only one player completed more successful dribbles. The midfielder also finished third in the Championship for total duels won with 324 overall.
O'Brien contributed three goals and three assists to Huddersfield's third-place finish in the Championship and season-ending second-place finish in the play-offs last year.
A wanted man
The 23-year-old has previously drawn interest from Premier League teams, with Leeds United attempting to sign him in January. However, he decided to finish the season with Huddersfield.
Following a man of the match performance against Bournemouth in which he made five tackles, finished the game with 90 percent passing accuracy, and won seven duels, former Huddersfield manager Carlos Corberan praised O'Brien as "outstanding" in March.
O'Brien is Nottingham Forest's first first-team midfield addition of the window after earning the chance to play in the Premier League.