Jesse Marsch could unearth Rice 2.0 with 8-figure Leeds bid for "sensational" target - opinion

Leeds United are interested in a deal to bring Lewis O’Brien to Elland Road in the summer transfer window.

That’s according to a report by The Sun, who claim that Jesse Marsch will make a move for the Huddersfield Town central midfielder this summer, with the 23-year-old said to have a £10m release clause written into his contract with the Championship side.

The report goes on to state that, should the Terriers have secured promotion to the Premier League in Sunday’s play-off final, the Whites could have once again missed out on the player they attempted to sign 12 months ago, however, with Nottingham Forest defeating Carlos Corberan’s side at Wembley, the door is now open for Marsch to move for O’Brien.

Considering just how impressive O’Brien was for Huddersfield this season, it is unsurprising to learn of Marsch’s interest in a move for the box-to-box midfielder.

Indeed, over his 43 Championship appearances this term – excluding his three play-off fixtures – the £3.15m-rated talent was imperious in the middle of the park, scoring three goals, registering three assists and creating four big chances for his teammates, as well as taking an average of 1.1 shots, making 1.0 key passes and completing 2.0 dribbles per game.

The £5k-per-week midfielder also impressed in metrics more typical of his position, enjoying 56.7 touches of the ball, in addition to making an average of 0.8 interceptions, 2.2 tackles, 29.5 passes and winning 7.5 duels – at a success rate of 56% – per fixture.

These returns saw the Huddersfield academy graduate showered with a considerable amount of praise, with Jonathan Hogg stating of the 23-year-old earlier this season:

“I think it’s only a matter of time before he plays in the Premier League. He has