"Desperately need" - Swansea City lauded for beating Derby County, Blackburn & Preston to imminent transfer | OneFootball

FLW's Swansea City fan pundit discussed the impending loan signing of Nottingham Forest's Lewis O'Brien

This article is part of Football League World's 'Terrace Talk' series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more...

Swansea City have been lauded for closing in on the loan capture of Lewis O'Brien, who is poised to sign from Nottingham Forest until the end of the current campaign.

It has been a largely miserable start to 2025 for Swansea, who have lost their last five matches in a row, one of which being a notable 3-0 thrashing at the hands of bitter rivals Cardiff City in January's south Wales derby showdown, amid the departure of long-serving former captain Matt Grimes to Coventry City and growing scrutiny surrounding head coach Luke Williams.

January was an undoubted disaster and Swansea have started the new month in less-than-ideal fashion by losing 2-0 to the Sky Blues on Saturday afternoon, but they have amplified their transfer activity in recent days and that has given the Jack Army faithful a slither of hope heading into the remainder of the season.

Swansea's only two signings to date have been on-loan Burnley defender Hannes Delcroix and highly-rated Swedish midfielder Melkar Widell, who will see out the season with AaB Aalborg before linking up with Williams' squad in the summer, but they are poised to add fresh faces ahead of this evening's 11pm deadline.

Pursuits have evidently been heightened following Grimes' sudden exit and both ex-Liverpool prospect Bobby Clark, who is currently with Red Bull Salzburg, and Manchester City's Jacob Wright are reported loan targets, along with the impending arrival of O'Brien.

Swansea City to sign Nottingham Forest's Lewis O'Brien

According to various reports, O'Brien has been of significant interest throughout the Championship after returning to the City Ground, where he has long been deemed surplus to requirements, from a loan spell with MLS outfit Los Angeles FC.

The likes of Burnley, Preston North End, Hull City and Blackburn Rovers have all been linked to the 26-year-old, as well as Derby County also making an offer, but Swansea have now seemingly won the race ahead of an imminent official unveiling.

Earlier this afternoon, it was confirmed by WalesOnline's Tom Coleman that O'Brien is heading down to Wales to undertake medical proceedings as the move edges ever closer towards completion.

O'Brien, who has real Championship pedigree built up from his successful stay with Huddersfield Town, is set to join Swansea on loan until the end of the season in a deal which certainly represents encouraging business, especially considering the recent exit of Grimes.

The central midfielder has long been linked to clubs throughout the Championship and Swansea appear to have fought off significant competition for his signature, making it an impressive deal and considerable effort from the club's key decision-makers.

Swansea City praised for imminent signing of Nottingham Forest's Lewis O'Brien

FLW asked our Jack Army fan pundit, Will Hughes, if he believes the imminent arrival of O'Brien represents a coup given how many second-tier rivals have been linked with the Forest man.

Precisely that has left Will pleasantly surprised, and he is excited to see O'Brien strutting his stuff in SA1 for the rest of the campaign.

"This one has really caught me by surprise, purely because of the fact I did see we were interested along with a lot of other Championship clubs and whenever I see we're interested a player along with other clubs, it never seems to be us to land that signature," Will told FLW.

"There's actually a running joke going around the Swansea fanbase at the minute, where we call the club 'Interested FC' for that reason, because it always just seems to be interest and nothing more. If we genuinely are looking at a player, nine times out of ten, one of the other clubs are going to get that player.

"On the player himself, he'd be a very welcome addition, that's for sure. I'm sure you'll see on social media, a lot of Swansea fans are delighted that we're able to get him in.

"He'd add plenty of Championship experience, which is something we need. It's all well and good us signing players from overseas and bringing players up from the youth academy, but you do need a bit of experience in the squad to balance it out, so I think he'd slot in very nicely.

"He can add a bit of creativity and drive to the midfield as well, which is something we desperately need because the only player we have in that position who can drive us forward and break lines is Goncalo Franco. So to have O'Brien as well would be fantastic, we've been calling all season for some more strength in the midfield.

"Obviously when we had Grimes next to Franco, the next player after that would be Jay Fulton or Joe Allen and no disrespect to either of them, but it's a little bit of a gulf in quality. We need more quality and I'm really delighted we're able to get O'Brien in.

"I always thought if we were to get him in it would be a loan, I doubt we'd have the funds to outright buy him. So I think it's a good bit of business to have him come in until the end of the season before Melker Widell comes in next year, I just hope we're able to strengthen our attack before the deadline as well.

"So another winger, potentially a creative number 10 or a striker would be ideal. But I don't think a striker is on the club's agenda, so ideally a winger or a number 10 would be very nice on top of O'Brien and Jacob Wright and Hannes Delcroix earlier on in the window.

"I think it's a good window, to be honest. It's just a bit annoying we've left it so late but hey, that seems to be the Swansea City way at the moment."