By Wayne Veysey

5th Aug, 2021 | 6:50am

Sources: Huddersfield respond to formal Leeds United bid for O'Brien

Huddersfield Town have rejected a Leeds United bid for midfielder Lewis O’Brien, Football Insider can exclusively reveal.

Football Insider broke the news on 30th July that United were in preliminary talks to sign O’Brien after missing out on Conor Gallagher.

A Leeds source has told Football Insider that they have now made a formal move for the 22-year-old central midfielder.

But their opening offer for O’Brien has been knocked back by Championship outfit Huddersfield, who are managed by ex-Leeds coach Carlos Corberan.

It is understood the midfielder is keen to join Marcelo Bielsa’s squad if a deal can be done but Leeds may need to tempt their Yorkshire rivals with a bigger offer.

O’Brien is believed to be ambitious and wants to play Premier League football.

That gives hope to the Whites that the central midfielder can be lured to Elland Road by the transfer cut-off at the end of this month.

United are in the market for a central midfielder who can provide cover and competition for the likes of Kalvin Phillips, Mateusz Klich and Stuart Dallas.

Adam Forshaw has made his long-awaited return to first-team football after two years of injury hell but Marcelo Bielsa will be wary of placing too many demands on him until he is fully up to speed.

Much will depend on whether Leeds can match Huddersfield’s asking price for their academy product.

O’Brien is out of contract at the Terriers next year, although they have the option to extend that deal by 12 months.

He has made 81 appearances for Town since graduating from their youth set-up, which have yielded five goals and seven assists from midfield, and also had a season on loan at Bradford City in League One.

In other news, Gabby Agbonlahor has suggested the real reason Leeds United knocked back by Conor Gallagher.