Swansea City must beat Championship rival in the battle for midfielder who Swans chief ‘would love’ to re-sign.
Swansea City finished the 2024/25 Championship season strongly, and despite a rough winter, they had a slim chance of making the play-offs.
While that ambition was never achieved, Alan Sheehan secured his permanent position as manager after a brilliant run of success in the last weeks of the season, and fans will be looking forward to the league’s return in August. It’s an exciting moment to be a Swansea supporter, and with Luka Modric now a minority shareholder in the South Wales club, there will be a desire to see many fresh faces at the Swansea.com Stadium in the coming months. However, if they can sign one player who starred while on loan for the club last season, it would help them maintain their strong start to the summer – although there is competition from others in the Championship.
Swansea City face plenty of competition for Lewis O’Brien
Lewis O’Brien joined the Swans on loan for the remainder of the 2024/25 season on deadline day in the January transfer window, and he instantly made an impression.
The midfielder, who arrived on loan from Nottingham Forest, made an immediate impact and proceeded to progress under Sheehan’s management. However, the Hull Daily Mail reports that Hull City is one of several Championship clubs interested in recruiting the 26-year-old. However, in May, director of football Richard Montague stated his intentions to re-sign O’Brien. He remarked (via BBC Sport): “We know Lewis has enjoyed his time here, and we’ve enjoyed having him here.”
“We’d love to have him back but he’s under contract with Nottingham Forest and it’s largely up to them what they choose to do. It’s something we’d really be open to and we’d love to explore further, but ultimately when he’s contracted to another club, it’s not us in the driving seat.”
Lewis O’Brien is crucial to Alan Sheehan’s success
While O’Brien only had a brief impact, he was one of Swansea’s top players last season and contributed to the club’s turnaround in form. The former Huddersfield Town midfielder was instrumental in breaking up opponent assaults, earning 76.7% of his tackles and winning more than half of the duels he participated in.
| Appearances (starts) | 16 (16) |
| Goals (assists) | 1 (0) |
| Pass accuracy | 76.5% |
| Shots (on target) | 22 (7) |
| Tackle success | 76.7% |
| Duel success | 50.5% |
| Interceptions | 10 |
Hull currently have Champions League experience under manager Sergej Jakirovic at the MKM Stadium, and as an unknown, O’Brien may consider joining as a gamble. The out-of-favour Forest player feels at ease and is familiar with Swansea. However, he may face competition if Ethan Erhahon joins the Swans. Nonetheless, experience is important in the Championship, and O’Brien should be Sheehan’s first pick this summer.
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