West Brom working on Lewis O’Brien signing

West Bromwich Albion are working on a move to sign Lewis O’Brien but the deal isn’t as close as suggested, according to Lewis Cox.

The Lowdown: O’Brien future

O’Brien only joined Nottingham Forest in the summer alongside Harry Toffolo in a double swoop from Championship side Huddersfield Town for £10m.

However, after only six Premier League starts and just one coming after the fifth game of the campaign, where he was hooked at half-time in the 4-0 defeat at Leicester City, the 24-year-old may be on the move again.

It was reported by the Express & Star that the Baggies are keen on bringing the centre-midfielder to The Hawthorns on loan until the end of the season to aid their promotion bid.

The Latest: Cox’s comments

Speaking during Express & Star’s post-match analysis of West Brom’s dismal 3-0 FA Cup defeat against Bristol City, the West Brom correspondent give an update on the club’s swoop for the former Championship star, Cox said:

(5:26) “A lot of excitement around that, everyone knows what a player he is in this division.”

“Listen if he’s available as we read he is from Forest then Albion should be at the front of the queue shouldn’t they.”

“Our information on the back of that was it’s not as close as suggested but he’s certainly a target and Albion are trying to make it happen, trying to do that deal.”

The Verdict: Great addition

A move for the Baggies to bring O’Brien in for the remainder of the season could be a great piece of business with the Englishman playing 123 Championship games for Huddersfield Town, the majority coming under current West Brom boss Carlos Corberan.

He played the full 90 minutes in both legs of the semi-final and the final loss to Forest in the Championship play-offs last season with him pivotal in the Terriers’ season.

Corberan’s side currently lie just a point outside of the top six among a tightly packed crowd on the cusp of the play-off spots.

The addition of a player who has the experience of being part of a play-off side under Corberan could prove invaluable come the end of the season.