O'Brien

[horler1]

With the reported interest from Burnley... would you sell him for any price? If so, what is he worth?

[nicovaesen]

50p a bag of scratching and the petrol to drive him there

[turbo2]

Burnley can’t possibly be after him.

He’s shite, didn’t you know

[Captainslapper]

Every player has a price and we like every other club bar a few very big ones are a selling club if someone offers enough.

Dont think hes got back to the levels he showed in the first half of last season ( his injury wont have helped ) but even so hes a very good young player and Id be gutted if he left. Can understand why a manager like Dyche would fancy him. Great attitude, run all day.

Difficult to put a price on him. We'll probably value him much higher than hes actually worth just because hes become such a key player for us.
And of course it depends how much we need the money and how long he has on his contract.
£8-10m with the usual sell on clauses?

[leroy212]

Be a fee of about 10 million paid over 5 years, like the grant fee

[Deleted]

I can see him being a Burnley type of player but it would be a real shame to lose him.

As things stand, I would find it hard to put a value on any player.

[drumriggend]

Dear Burnley..

You can O’Brien for nowt if you tek diakhaby and Pritchard and pay there wages..


Thanks..


👍

[Russlad]

They were in for him in the summer until he got injured. Not surprised they are back sniffing...

[Deleted]

I can’t see CC wanting to lose him. We play a high energy game and he covers as much ground as anyone. Him and Hogg must be a gaffer’s dream.

[arry11]

Jan 3, 2021 18:34:04 GMT 1 @mrx said:

I can’t see CC wanting to lose him. We play a high energy game and he covers as much ground as anyone. Him and Hogg must be a gaffer’s dream.

Exactly this we need consistent players who give it all.

[Frankiesleftpeg]

O'Brien's been back to somewhere near his best in the last couple of games and if he can just get his passing back in sync, then it would be madness to sell him for anything other than a ridiculous fee. Despite his passing indiscretions, he'd be a massive loss to the team.

[arry11]

Jan 3, 2021 21:52:32 GMT 1 Frankiesleftpeg said:

O'Brien's been back to somewhere near his best in the last couple of games and if he can just get his passing back in sync, then it would be madness to sell him for anything other than a ridiculous fee. Despite his passing indiscretions, he'd be a massive loss to the team.

We need too see what happens in the transfer window need a good wide man let O'Brien operate centrally if fit Hogg and O'Brien are first picks

[Porrohman]

Jan 3, 2021 22:29:10 GMT 1 arry11 said:

Jan 3, 2021 21:52:32 GMT 1 Frankiesleftpeg said:

O'Brien's been back to somewhere near his best in the last couple of games and if he can just get his passing back in sync, then it would be madness to sell him for anything other than a ridiculous fee. Despite his passing indiscretions, he'd be a massive loss to the team.

We need too see what happens in the transfer window need a good wide man let O'Brien operate centrally if fit Hogg and O'Brien are first picks

We'd need a tall winger for defensive duties, Hogg and O'B must be the shortest midfield pairing in the league 🤔😁

[btwoowah]

Might be a controversial opinion this, but I think anywhere near to 8 figures and we bite their hand off. As much as I love him, I think he has a ceiling as far as technique is concerned, meaning he’s never going to be worth much more than that. He has one hell of an engine, and he seems to get stronger and quicker over 90 minutes, which is an amazing asset, but I think he is potentially replaceable for a fraction of that. Don’t get me wrong, I’d be sad to see him go, but I’m not sure it would damage us too much medium/long term. This is all on the proviso that we’re reinvesting this theoretical £10m, of course, one way or another...

[shawsie]

Jan 3, 2021 22:53:31 GMT 1 btwoowah said:

Might be a controversial opinion this, but I think anywhere near to 8 figures and we bite their hand off. As much as I love him, I think he has a ceiling as far as technique is concerned, meaning he’s never going to be worth much more than that. He has one hell of an engine, and he seems to get stronger and quicker over 90 minutes, which is an amazing asset, but I think he is potentially replaceable for a fraction of that. Don’t get me wrong, I’d be sad to see him go, but I’m not sure it would damage us too much medium/long term. This is all on the proviso that we’re reinvesting this theoretical £10m, of course, one way or another...

Technique?
Granted he’s no de bruyne, but I bet his pass stats are right up there with the so called technicians of eiting and bacuna and I know which one of the three would be first on my team sheet.
Had a quiet start to the season due to injury, and suffers a bit from his versatility but a top young player who unless we get silly money we should be looking to keep.....imho of course!

[boooothy]

Roles reversed. If we were in the Premier League and fairly stable and we fancied a player in a mid table Championship team who don’t appear to have a load of dosh. I’d be fairly confident we could land that player if we wanted them.

[kennyk2]

I can't see Burnley paying anywhere near what we'ed want for the lad. But... it just depends on our money flow situation.

[btwoowah]

Jan 3, 2021 23:56:40 GMT 1 shawsie said:

Jan 3, 2021 22:53:31 GMT 1 btwoowah said:

Might be a controversial opinion this, but I think anywhere near to 8 figures and we bite their hand off. As much as I love him, I think he has a ceiling as far as technique is concerned, meaning he’s never going to be worth much more than that. He has one hell of an engine, and he seems to get stronger and quicker over 90 minutes, which is an amazing asset, but I think he is potentially replaceable for a fraction of that. Don’t get me wrong, I’d be sad to see him go, but I’m not sure it would damage us too much medium/long term. This is all on the proviso that we’re reinvesting this theoretical £10m, of course, one way or another...

Technique?
Granted he’s no de bruyne, but I bet his pass stats are right up there with the so called technicians of eiting and bacuna and I know which one of the three would be first on my team sheet.
Had a quiet start to the season due to injury, and suffers a bit from his versatility but a top young player who unless we get silly money we should be looking to keep.....imho of course!

Technique doesn’t just mean passing, but shooting, striking a moving ball, striking a dead ball, close control, dribbling, and all sorts of other metrics. It’s a bit of a misconception that passing accuracy is the best measure of a player’s technique (though even here O’Brien (78.1%) scores significantly lower than Hogg (87.4) and Eiting (80.7) this season, and significantly lower than Hogg, ESR, and even Pritchard last season (76.7 to 84.6, 86.2, 77.8 respectively)).

Like I say, I REALLY rate O’Brien and would be sad to see him go. I just think he’s unlikely to ever be worth considerably more than £10m (certainly playing with us in the Championship), so if we’re serious about making steady progress on and off the pitch, it makes economic sense to make a deal sooner rather than later. It is a (perhaps disappointing to some fans) reality that the only way to significantly increase player budgets (wages and transfers) currently is through player sales. We sell an asset for £10m, bump up/maintain the wage budget in order to retain one or two other assets, add one or two more we think we can add value to, then go again. It’s not super romantic, but these aren’t super romantic times.

FWIW, I’d be ecstatic to see him stay, and I think there are clearly several preferable options for freeing up funds (Diakhaby and Pritchard’s substantial wages are clearly not being put to good use; I would take a much lower offer for Bacuna, for example), but you don’t always get the offers you want at the time you want them, you can only play the cards you’re dealt, and any offer, whenever it arrives, has to be judged on its own merits.

[VLP Fan Club]

To replace him and get a like for like in terms of energy, ability and age we'd have to spend the fee we receive.

Unless it's stupid money (which Burnley 1. Don't have and 2. Don't spend) then there is no reason to sell.

[HuddsTerrier]

Certainly don't want O'Brien to leave but equally he will be interested in a move if Burnley do make an approach

If - and this is the thing based on recent windows - he leaves and we use the money then there are goood alternatives, e.g. Ben Whiteman from Donnie would be a great replacement

[townrwe]

Jan 4, 2021 11:17:32 GMT 1 VLP Fan Club said:

To replace him and get a like for like in terms of energy, ability and age we'd have to spend the fee we receive.

Unless it's stupid money (which Burnley 1. Don't have and 2. Don't spend) then there is no reason to sell.

Burnley have been taken over and have money to spend. Surely would need to be 10m+. Replacing his energy would be tough, Scott High maybe with someone on loan to take off the pressure.

[btwoowah]

Jan 4, 2021 11:17:32 GMT 1 VLP Fan Club said:

To replace him and get a like for like in terms of energy, ability and age we'd have to spend the fee we receive.

Unless it's stupid money (which Burnley 1. Don't have and 2. Don't spend) then there is no reason to sell.

That’s the main reason you rarely see like for like replacements of this sort. You look AROUND the problem, look for value in the market generally (too limiting otherwise), and look for creative solutions to any specific issues a sale has thrown up. I’ll use a couple of recent examples to show better what I mean.

Summer 2019, we sell Billing. We don’t look to buy a like for like replacement with the exact same skill set at the exact same stage of development - like you say, such a player is likely to cost a similar amount. Instead, the club brings in Chalobah on loan relatively cheaply, who has some of the skill set we’re losing - height, defensive interceptions, passing range - at an earlier stage of development, though with experience of football at the level we’re currently at. We also have this guy Lewis O’Brien who’s coming back from a successful loan who may play a part and has some of the other characteristics we’ve lost - left-footed, good ball carrier. Elsewhere, the Billing money allows us to take a punt on young Josh Koroma, finances the ESR deal in January etc etc etc

Summer 2020, we sell Grant. We don’t go and spend £15m on an inside forward. The money we know we’ll be getting (eventually) gives us the financial confidence to pay off our last management team who aren’t the right fit and replace them with a new one who’ll play more expansively, will look to develop attacking patterns of play, meaning goals will be spread around the team more. We can add Championship nous to the frontline in the guise of Danny award, who adds depth at 9, which we were lacking, and can play from the left also. Some of the upfront money goes on a right back. Oh, and that Koroma kid we bought last year suddenly looks like he can step up...

Now, I KNOW what I’ve written above is highly simplified and selective, and some of those recruitment decisions look wiser than others, but my central point is that recruitment/squad-building is a more holistic process than you’re suggesting. No, we won’t be able to go out and buy another Lewis O’Brien, and we don’t need to. Hypothetically again, maybe in January we receive an acceptable bid for Lewis. There isn’t another left-sided, 23yo dynamo to be had anywhere in the world, but maybe we find out there’s a permanent deal to be done on Eiting; we find a promising Premier League loan looking for minutes to take Lewis’ squad place; Daly or High or Jackson is deemed good enough to start playing 30 minutes here, 30 minutes there, and suddenly start to look like the real deal; the money allows us to tie down Mbenza for three more years; taking the O’Brien money means we can bat away inquiries for Toffolo or Pipa from other Championship clubs.... Who knows? But it’s not just a matter of, ‘he’s irreplaceable’ because there’s no-one out there EXACTLY like him.

[alex]

I recon we will take 5 mill and a load of shit add ons.

[huddersfc]

I would be stunned if we sold another first team player either this window or in the summer. We can barely put a team out, especially not one that can last 90 minutes. The amount of transfer money we have received in the last 2 years compared to what we have spent, should more than give us enough financial security for years to come.

I know its only a rumour, backed up by a journalist so you can only take it with a pinch of salt right now, but I think this sale would be even more unforgivable than selling Grant and Mounie for around £20 mill and not replacing them. I am also glad people think we are already safe and mid table with 31 points. Those people only have to look at Hull last season who thought they had done enough, sold in January and went crashing into League 1, losing pretty much every single game. We shouldnt even be entertaining any offers for any of our players in this window unless its Diakhaby or Pritchard, although to call them first teamers would be an insult to the rest of the team. Unless I am completely missing something we have received a ridiculous amount of transfer money in the last 2 years, and with literally only 11 players to pick from, it should be 4 in and 0 out.

[dugnet]

These days agents, family etc all have a major influence in players' decisions. If at this stage of his career he is advised that moving is the best thing for his career that's what will happen.

Money talks...

Is Burnley the best move for him? Possibly? Playing at a higher level, get more experienced, potentially develop and move on again. Failing that have 3 years at decent Premier League wages.

[Dan]

Jan 4, 2021 15:35:37 GMT 1 huddersfc said:

I would be stunned if we sold another first team player either this window or in the summer. We can barely put a team out, especially not one that can last 90 minutes. The amount of transfer money we have received in the last 2 years compared to what we have spent, should more than give us enough financial security for years to come.

I know its only a rumour, backed up by a journalist so you can only take it with a pinch of salt right now, but I think this sale would be even more unforgivable than selling Grant and Mounie for around £20 mill and not replacing them. I am also glad people think we are already safe and mid table with 31 points. Those people only have to look at Hull last season who thought they had done enough, sold in January and went crashing into League 1, losing pretty much every single game. We shouldnt even be entertaining any offers for any of our players in this window unless its Diakhaby or Pritchard, although to call them first teamers would be an insult to the rest of the team. Unless I am completely missing something we have received a ridiculous amount of transfer money in the last 2 years, and with literally only 11 players to pick from, it should be 4 in and 0 out.

Don't think you can compare us to Hull. They had 1 PL quality player, 1 top end championship quality player and the rest were pretty useless. As soon as they sold Bowen and Grosicki, I said to my Hull supporting mate, 'see you in a few months for a relegation battle' and he agreed.

We don't have any 'star' players that really are head and shoulders above the rest of the team and I like that. We'll be fine this season whether we sell Lewis or not. I'd rather keep him, but if £10 million was being offered then I think that would represent good value.

[ritchie]

10mill + addons
it's what we do. someone will step up from academy. money could be used for Carlos to mount a promotion challenge

ideally in summer though

[huntingdontown]

c.newsnow.co.uk/A/1062499437?-1237:819

[HuddsTerrier]

Jan 14, 2021 9:11:49 GMT 1 huntingdontown said:

c.newsnow.co.uk/A/1062499437?-1237:819

To be honest the links to mowatt did have me wondering whether he’d be a replacement for LOB

[tepidterrier]

I'd be surprised if he went this window tbh. Not heard crystal palace as a destination for him until now but it'd make sense- he's a similar player to James MacArthur who's now 33. Although I'd be surprised if this isn't Roy's last season as well, so who knows if they'll still want him in the summer