What next for ‘very special’ Nottingham Forest midfielder?

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Lewis O’Brien was a player with a lot of promise when he joined the club in a joint deal with Harry Toffolo from Huddersfield Town last summer.

Labelled as a ‘very special‘ player by former boss Carlos Corberan, O’Brien made a great start to life on Trentside forming a solid partnership alongside Orel Mangala in midfield.

The 24-year-old scored one of the two goals in the 3-2 home defeat to Fulham back in September and only went on to start one more Premier League game before the new year.

After the additions of Jonjo Shelvey and Danilo to the midfield department in January, O’Brien was subsequently left out of Steve Cooper’s 25-man Premier League squad.

O’Brien was free to leave on loan, and the club agreed a deal with Blackburn Rovers for O’Brien to join the Championship side until the end of the season.

However, late paperwork meant that the deal was off, with the midfielder eventually making the trip to the MLS to join Wayne Rooney’s DC United.

What does this season hold for Lewis O’Brien?

Although DC endured a tough campaign, the Forest loanee had a great spell in the MLS, only registering a rating of under 7.0 in two of his 17 appearances in the US.

O’Brien hasn’t featured in any of the Reds’ pre-season friendlies, as his last game with the American side was only 18 days ago.

He’s subsequently been given extended time off, but it still remains to be seen if he is part of Cooper’s plans this season.

The 24-year-old has already been linked with the likes of Sheffield United, Leeds United and West Brom this window, but no official bid has been made for the midfielder.

However, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see O’Brien leave the City Ground on a permanent basis during this window.

With Forest already having options such as Mangala, Ryan Yates and Danilo all ahead of him plus potential incomings, it could signal the end of his short time on Trentside.