Hull City plot fresh transfer raid for £5m Wrexham star | OneFootball

Lewis O'Brien was heavily linked with a move to the MKM Stadium last summer

Hull City's season is now at the make-or-break stage, as the Tigers head down to South London on Monday night to face Millwall in the second leg of their Championship play-off semi-final.

After a cagey goalless affair was played out between Sergej Jakirovic's outfit and the Lions at the MKM Stadium on Friday night, just like the other semi-final between Southampton and Middlesbrough, the overall fortunes of both sides' two-legged battle will be decided at The Den.

Regardless of the outcome, it has still been a tremendous first campaign as a Championship head coach for the Bosnian, who has guided the pre-season relegation favourites into the top six for the first time in a decade under a barrage of issues, both on the field in terms of injuries, as well as a well-documented transfer fee restriction over the course of the season's two windows.

Jakirovic had only been in the hotseat in East Yorkshire for a matter of weeks when City were hit with the punishment by the EFL, which meant his initial transfer plans were effectively ripped up as the club could only welcome new members to their 25-man squad through the completion of free transfers or loan deals without further required payments.

At the time of the 49-year-old's appointment, one man who was heavily linked with a move to HU3 was Lewis O'Brien, then of Nottingham Forest, with the midfielder finding his gametime at the City Ground extremely limited throughout a three-year spell after signing from Huddersfield Town.

However, whilst it still remains to be seen what division the Tigers will be featuring in next season, a fresh update concerning them and the experienced midfielder has now come to light.

Hull City rekindle Lewis O'Brien transfer interest amid Premier League promotion hopes

That's because, according to Alan Nixon - via Patreon - which has surfaced ahead of the second leg of the play-off semi-finals, City are readying a fresh move for the 27-year-old, who has endured an impressive first season with Wrexham.

O'Brien was one of several high-profile recruits signed by former Hull boss, Phil Parkinson, at the Stok Cae Ras last summer, having also been linked with the Tigers, Birmingham City and Southampton beforehand.

The Colchester-born man was also a reported target for the club during a loan spell away from Forest at LAFC of the MLS in late 2024, when they were managed by Tim Walter.

Nixon's new report, rather unsurprisingly, states that City's previous move for the box-to-box midfielder was impacted by their transfer restrictions, which are set to be over by the time the summer window reopens next month.

Meanwhile, O'Brien will also remain a target regardless of if they achieve promotion back to the Premier League or not, having seen his minutes reduced in North Wales over time.

After being part of a potential £5m deal, the midfielder only played 67 minutes in the final four league matches of the season, as Wrexham were pipped to sixth place by Hull on the final day of the regular season.

Lewis O'Brien move would be intriguing for Hull City if they were promoted

There is no doubting that O'Brien has strong technical and creative ability, having produced four goals and seven assists for the Red Dragons this term.

Promotion, of course, would bring an extreme financial bonus to Hull if they were to be successful, as well as potentially altering which calibre of players the club might be able to attract to the MKM Stadium in the process.

Therefore, it would certainly be an intriguing transfer move by the Tigers, although O'Brien would likely relish the prospect of featuring in the top-flight having been limited to just 13 appearances in the division during his spell in the East Midlands.

However, it also remains to be seen if he is valued as a long-term member of Parkinson's plans in North Wales, with Wrexham's own ambitions being well-publicised, as well as the fact he has two years still to run on his contract.