Nottingham Forest player should jump at the chance to join Leeds United: Opinion

Nottingham Forest vs Leeds United Prediction and Betting Tips

Nottingham Forest player should be eager to leave the club and join Leeds United.

As the transfer window closes in on the final week before it closes, teams up and down the country are looking to wrap up any late business they may want to do, and Leeds United are no different.

The Yorkshire side have dominated most of the talk this summer, and even in the remaining days, they are expected to continue doing so.

Leeds have seen some big-name players leave the club over the past few months, while some who remain at the club still want out.

Many will have expected more movement from the club by now as their season is underway and the squad still looks someway off what Daniel Farke may want it to be.

However, that might be starting to change, as according to TEAMtalk, Leeds are considering a move for Nottingham Forest midfielder Jonjo Shelvey.

What is Jonjo Shelvey’s current situation at Nottingham Forest?

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The 31-year-old joined Forest from Newcastle United in January of this year after falling down the pecking order with the Magpies.

However, his six months at Forest haven’t been the most successful, as he’s only played eight times and was named on the bench in most matches.

He has yet to feature for Forest in their opening two games of the Premier League campaign and it seems his future may lie elsewhere.

Shelvey signed a contact until the summer of 2025 when he joined the club, so he still has two years remaining on his current deal.

But it now appears as though his time at the club could be about to end, as Farke wants to improve his midfield and has identified Shelvey as an option.

The report from TEAMtalk adds that Forest are said to be open to offers for the midfielder as they look to offload players before the deadline.

The midfielder could be considered a good signing for the club given his Championship experience and his ability on the ball.

Why should Jonjo Shelvey leave Nottingham Forest for Leeds United?

It was revealed at the beginning of July that Nottingham Forest were planning on moving Shelvey out of the club, as he was deemed surplus to requirements.

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That has been backed up by the fact that the player hasn’t featured in the club’s two matchday squads in the 2023/23 season.

So, with his time all but up, the 31-year-old shouldn’t let an opportunity to join Leeds at this stage of his career pass him by.

Shelvey has previous experience in England’s second tier, as he’s played 70 times, in which time he recorded 14 goals and 14 assists.

The last time Shelvey was in the Championship was in the 2016/17 season, where he was highly influential in Newcastle’s promotion campaign.

Not only was Shelvey’s influence seen in goals and assists, but it was his all-round ability that made him a real asset for Newcastle. That season, Shelvey averaged a total of 52.3 passes per game, with an accurate long ball total of 7.2, while his overall pass success rate was 78.5%, as per WhoScored.com.

The 31-year-old was very important in the Magpies’ midfield, acting as the player who would drop in between the defenders and get the ball moving to the top end of the pitch, something you could say Farke is looking for now in his Leeds team.

In that 2016/17 campaign, Shelvey averaged 2.1 key passes per game. On the flip side of that, he is also a player who isn’t afraid of doing the dirty work, averaging 0.9 interceptions in that campaign along with 1.3 tackles per game, as per WhoScored.com.

Of course, it is important to stress that Shelvey isn’t going to be at the level he was at for Newcastle in this campaign, as the player is a lot older. But if you consider what Leeds are looking for and what they are crying out for, then Shelvey is the perfect player for that.

Plus, dropping down to the Championship may be the best thing for the player, as he can continue his career at a very high level and try to be part of a Leeds team that gets promoted back to the Premier League.

Shelvey would definitely fit into this Leeds team and could easily repeat the influence he had at Newcastle in the Championship once again.

Mateusz Klich provides hilarious response to question on Leeds’ interest in Lewis O’Brien

Leeds United: Mateusz Klich says main goal is staying in Premier League - BBC Sport

Mateusz Klich has joked he will ‘finally’ be able to ‘rent his flat in Harrogate’ after Leeds United’s interest in Lewis O’Brien.

Klich was providing a response to a Leeds supporter on Twitter after he was asked for his thoughts on whether O’Brien could be moving to Elland Road.

The two were, of course, teammates for a brief period earlier this year with O’Brien having joined Klich at DC United in March.

Klich made the move to the MLS side in January following his exit from Leeds with O’Brien not too far behind him after an extremely difficult period at Nottingham Forest.

O’Brien was unregistered from Forest’s Premier League squad just six months after joining, and was set to move to Blackburn Rovers on loan, only for the EFL to determine the paperwork was not completed in time.

Klich’s hilarious response to Leeds’ O’Brien interest

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That left O’Brien unable to play football and so his only option was a move to the MLS, where he linked up with Klich under former Manchester United and England star Wayne Rooney.

When asked on Leeds’ interest in O’Brien, Klich responded in typical fashion: “It would be great, I could finally rent my flat in Harrogate.”

O’Brien would represent a superb piece of business in the Championship and with Forest open to either letting him leave permanently, or on loan, Leeds would be wise to move quickly.

Hopefully Klich can put in a good word about Leeds to O’Brien and ensure that the 24-year-old does make the move to Elland Road.

Leeds are keen to add to their midfield options before the end of the window and there aren’t many better at this level than O’Brien.