Sources: Leeds United line up new O'Brien move after '£13m' offer rejected

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Published on:

10 Sep 2021, 2:30 am

Leeds United will maintain dialogue over a potential Lewis O'Brien January deal after encouragement he is desperate to join, Football Insider understands.

The Yorkshire giants targeted the Huddersfield Town midfielder during the summer and it has been confirmed they tabled four bids in total.

A Leeds source has told Football Insider that O'Brien, 22, remains in Marcelo Bielsa's sights and a winter window deal is considered a possibility.

🗣️ "The fourth offer we rejected was for £13 million."

Huddersfield Town chairman Phil Hodgkinson lifts the lid on Leeds United's interest in Lewis O'Brien and why they couldn't reach agreement.

Full interview with Phil Hodgkinson coming soon#htafc #lufc #bbcfootball pic.twitter.com/pFQGiir9Cl
— BBC Sport West Yorkshire (@BBCWYS) September 9, 2021

Talks are set to continue behind the scenes with O'Brien's agent Kevin Sharp although there will be hurdles to overcome, including Huddersfield's asking price.

Chairman Phil Hodgkinson has revealed he rejected a series of bids from Leeds culminating in a package worth £13m in total.

But he explained to the BBC and Yorkshire Live that the issue was the structure of the final bid, including how much of the cash was guaranteed and how much was made up performance-related add-ons.

Leeds have been given enough encouragement that O'Brien wants to make the move to Elland Road.

Football Insider revealed on 13th August that O'Brien is very keen to link up with Bielsa's side after first breaking the news on 30th July that United were in preliminary talks to sign the midfielder.

They had made a concerted push for Conor Gallagher but he joined Crystal Palace instead.

Tellingly, O'Brien has now entered the final 12 months of his contract at Huddersfield.

However, the Terriers do have the option of triggering a one-year extension clause.

In other news, Leeds United are tipped to sanction astonishing £160m payout by Kieran Maguire.

Leeds United