Sheffield United could be chasing the midfielder after the door left wide open

Sheffield United have previously been linked with box-to-box midfielder Lewis O’Brien and after being denied the chance to sign him by Nottingham Forest last summer, the door now looks wide open for the Blades to secure the youngster’s signature. 25 years. .

According to The Northern Echo, Middlesbrough have pulled out of the race to sign O’Brien permanently after a relatively decent loan spell at Boro. Now Sheffield United and Preston North End could be in the driver’s seat for the Nottingham Forest man.

It is understood that Forest do not see O’Brien as part of their squad and now that the Blades are no longer direct rivals to the Reds, the opportunity to negotiate for the player is much more likely.

O’Brien played 23 times for Michael Carrick’s Middlesbrough, suffering a long spell on the sidelines from late September to early January. And despite his failings, he put in some strong performances in midfield to help Boro to 8th place.

Chris Wilder will certainly be in the market for midfielders this summer as the Blades look to reshape their squad. We know that Oliver Norwood will no longer be a Sheffield United player after this season, so it is important to sign one or two players who have been through the thick of it in midfield on a Championship day.

Wilder and supporters have made it abundantly clear that they want the team to be built around Oliver Arblaster and Gustavo Hamer. In Hamer, the Blades have a top Championship midfielder who can get goals and assists in abundance at this level and has even shown he can do so at Premier League level.

While Arblaster’s breakthrough to the first team actually correlates with Hamer’s improved goal and assist numbers. The pair clearly have the right chemistry. But now it’s about adding one more piece to the puzzle. Arblaster has shown that he can control defenses and do his defensive work diligently – but do you really want Arblaster to do that?

That’s a conundrum that Wilder and his new recruiting team will have to solve. How do you want the midfield to perform next season? Do you want a six and two eight? Do you want two sixes and a 10? It will be very interesting to see how the summer transfer window plays out for the Blades.

I understand some fans want Tom Davies in midfield next season, but I certainly wouldn’t count on him to be a main starter given his injury record.

Lewis O’Brien would give Sheffield United far more energy in midfield than the likes of Vinicius Souza have this season.

He has genuine box-to-box ability and, while far from the most physically imposing of midfielders, he strives. In addition, he gives the team that balance of having a left-footed player in midfield.

Another player I suspect the Blades will look at is another left-handed player in Alex Mowatt, who is currently in a play-off campaign with West Brom. As far as I know, Mowatt was out of contract this summer with no option in the contract. This is particularly interesting as United’s new head of recruitment helped bring the 29-year-old to Middlesbrough under Chris Wilder.