Nottingham Forest boss Steve Cooper has reacted after the club announced that Lewis O’Brien has joined D.C. United on loan. The Reds midfielder has been in limbo for several weeks but now he can look forward to playing some matches.
The 24-year-old signed for the Reds during the summer transfer window. He cost the club £10 million from Huddersfield and during the first half of 2022/23, he made 14 appearances in the Garibaldi, scoring a single goal.
An illness around the time of the World Cup saw him lose his place in the side. That coincided with a resurgence in Forest’s form and he never managed to win a place back in Cooper’s engine room.
The club had sanctioned a move to Blackburn on loan for the remainder of the season in January. However, Rovers submitted the wrong paperwork and he was forced to remain at the City Ground after an unsuccessful appeal.
O’Brien hasn’t made an appearance for Forest since the middle of January. On that occasion, he came on for the final 20 minutes of a 2-0 victory over Leicester, a second win in succession for the Reds.
Cooper has reacted after O’Brien joins D.C. United on loan
The head coach was a big fan of the midfielder and Forest were linked with a move to sign him shortly after promotion. He wasn’t bad either during the first half of the season, it’s just that the squad has better players.
Cooper is hopeful that O’Brien can get some regular football in the MLS. Shortly after O’Brien’s deal was announced, the 43-year-old reacted on the club’s official website.
He said: “Lewis deserves this opportunity to go and play football.
“Everyone knows about his situation, so now he is able to go and get some games under his belt between now and the end of the season and it will be a real positive for him.
“It will be a great experience and we wish him well.”
Forest will hope that O’Brien can get plenty of games in the MLS under the watchful eye of Wayne Rooney who is in charge of the team.
The players Forest future will likely be determined by what league they will play in next season. If the Reds get relegated back to the Championship, then they will almost certainly want him back in the summer.