Birmingham City, Southampton & Hull City left reeling over Nottingham Forest, Lewis O'Brien transfer demand | OneFootball

Nottingham Forest have put an £8m price tag on Lewis O'Brien's head, leaving interested parties stunned.

Nottingham Forest have placed a whopping £8 million price tag on the head of forgotten man Lewis O'Brien this summer, which has seen interest from a trio of Championship clubs cool.

Hull City, Birmingham City and Southampton were all interested in signing the midfielder this summer, but in a new report, how much they would have to pay Forest to secure his services has been revealed.

This comes from journalist Alan Nixon via his Patreon page on Sunday morning, who has revealed that the former European champions have a stunning eight-figure price above O'Briens head.

This has reportedly seen interest in the 26-year-old reduce, as the trio of interested clubs deem that valuation too high for them to consider paying.

O'Brien has endured a miserable stint at the City Ground since arriving in 2022 for a reported joint fee of £10m with Huddersfield Town teammate Harry Toffolo. He's played just a handful of games for the club, and been sent out on different loan spells over the last couple of seasons.

Nottingham Forest set £8m valuation of Lewis O'Brien in blow to Championship trio

It's been a tough few years at the City Ground for O'Brien, as the evolution of the Nottingham Forest squad has been very quick, and continues to be to this day.

Whilst the club enjoyed a remarkable campaign on the pitch last term, which saw them qualify for European football, the future of the midfielder at the club seems non-existent.

After loan moves away in the previous windows, it was reported that Hull, Birmingham, and Southampton were all interested in signing the former Huddersfield star on a permanent deal, with the Tigers lodging a £5m bid this past week for his services.

However, Nixon has now stated that Nuno Espírito Santo's side have put an £8m valuation on the forgotten man, which has cooled the interest of the three parties who were reportedly keen on signing him, and it will need to see Hull up their bid if they want to land him.

Lewis O'Brien needs to quickly move on from Nottingham Forest - transfer compromise may be needed though

When O'Brien joined the newly-promoted side in 2022, along with Huddersfield teammate Toffolo in a £10m combined deal, he would've certainly imagined a much more successful few years ahead of him, but that isn't the case.

Across all competitions in the last three years, O'Brien has played a measly 17 matches for the Nottinghamshire-based outfit, netting one goal. Incredibly, 13 of these came in the Premier League in his first season at the club.

Unfortunately, it just hasn't worked out for him, and after multiple loan spells away and now approaching what, on paper, should be the peak of his career, it's hugely important that O'Brien finds a new permanent home this summer.

Hull have reportedly already had a bid worth £5m rejected by Forest, and the latest update on the ongoing developments will be a frustrating one for both the player and the interested clubs, as the Premier League side have seemingly priced out any potential buyers.

It's hard to see anyone paying £8m for O'Brien's services this summer though, so it may need a compromise from Forest in order to get a deal done for him to leave the club - Hull's opening offer appeared to be a reasonable one, but it's clear to see that right now, the Tricky Trees are not budging.