Nottingham Forest have continued their summer spending spree by completing a joint deal for the Huddersfield pair of Lewis O’Brien and Harry Toffolo.
The £10million move for the midfielder and the left-back mean Steve Cooper has now signed nine players since Forest won promotion at Huddersfield’s expense in May’s play-off final.
Forest have spent around £70million in a bid to build a team capable of staying up with striker Taiwo Awoniyi becoming their club record buy.
Cooper has also purchased two other full-backs, in Neco Williams from Liverpool and Omar Richards from Bayern Munich, and two centre-backs, in the French duo of Giulian Biancone and Moussa Niakhate. Dean Henderson has been borrowed from Manchester United while another goalkeeper, Wayne Hennessey, has joined from Burnley.
O’Brien, who was at Huddersfield since he was 11, and Toffolo, who joined from League One Lincoln in 2020, impressed as the Terriers surprised by finishing third in the Championship last season and now each said he had to take the chance to step up to the top flight.
“To have the opportunity to play in the Premier League is something I couldn’t turn down,” said Toffolo. “I’m a player who wears his heart on his sleeve and I’m someone that will fight for the badge and for the team every single minute.”
O’Brien added: “When the opportunity came about to join Forest, it was a no-brainer for me. You only have to look at Forest’s turnaround last season to see that something special is happening here at the moment, and after my first conversation with Steve Cooper it was obvious we both share the same vision and I’m buzzing to be part of the project.”
Manager Cooper said: “We are delighted to secure the signing of Lewis O’Brien and we are thrilled to get this one over the line. He was one of the standout players in the Championship last season and possesses many of the qualities that we are looking for to strengthen the midfield unit. Harry is an excellent addition to the squad and adds quality and depth to a position that we were keen to strengthen this summer. We saw first-hand last season how effective he can be from wide positions.”
For Huddersfield, the departures of the influential midfielder and left-back follow the loss of manager Carlos Corberan and key loan players, in Levi Colwill and Danel Sinani.
