Presenter Joe Wainman has described Leeds United's decision not to meet Huddersfield's asking price for Lewis O'Brien last month as "madness".
What happened with Lewis O'Brien in the recent transfer window?
The Premier League club were keen to strengthen their central midfield this summer, and O'Brien was identified as a potential target for Marcelo Bielsa's men. Their pursuit of the 22-year-old was labelled as "live" at one stage, as they appeared to be closing in on O'Brien's signature.
However, they reportedly refused to meet Huddersfield's £8m asking price for the player, meaning that O'Brien remains with the Championship outfit for the moment.
What did Wainman say about Leeds' decision regarding O'Brien?
Wainman has admitted that he was left slightly bemused by Leeds opting against upping their offer for O'Brien. He hinted that the decision made even less sense when the club forked out £25m to sign Manchester United winger Daniel James on deadline day.
Speaking to GIVEMESPORT about Leeds' summer transfer policy, Wainman said: “It’s like the O’Brien thing – when Leeds bid £4m, they wanted £8m – Leeds aren’t willing to meet that valuation. Which is madness really when you think, ‘it’s £8m.’ I know it’s not my money, but that’s why everyone started to think ‘we haven’t got any money’, and then we get Dan James for £25m.”
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How has O'Brien performed so far this season?
O'Brien may have hoped that he'd be playing in the Premier League by now, but he has managed to put any transfer speculation behind him and has started the Championship season strongly.
The midfielder scored in his third league appearance of the campaign during a 4-0 win over Reading, and then registered an assist in his side's 3-0 victory against Blackpool earlier this month.
His two goal contributions are as many as Leeds' central midfielders have managed combined, with Stuart Dallas getting an assist on the opening day at Old Trafford, and Mateusz Klich scoring against Everton the following week.
It's also worth noting that O'Brien has received an average game rating of 6.82 for his performances in the Championship this term - only Raphinha (6.96) has earned a higher mark for Leeds in the top-flight.
Bearing this in mind, Leeds may already be regretting not signing O'Brien when they had the chance this summer, as it seems that they could have benefitted from having a player with his skillset to help them overcome their winless start to the season.