Twenty-five-year-old Lewis O’Brien (Instagram: @lewisobrien98) is an industrious, hard-working, always-running central midfielder who has joined LAFC on loan from English Premier League club Nottingham Forest.
O’Brien is projected to contribute meaningful minutes to the defending Western Conference champions as they push toward the 2024 MLS postseason, injecting his aggressive ball-winning and transitional attacking skills into LAFC’s game model.
A THIRD LION
O’Brien is the third Englishman to ever wear the Black & Gold, joining Bradley Wright-Phillips (MLS’ sixth all-time leading goalscorer, and current Apple TV MLS Season Pass analyst), and goalkeeper Jamal Blackman (who made eight starts in goal for LAFC in 2021). Blackman was briefly O’Brien’s teammate with English club Huddersfield Town in 2021-22.
Current LAFC forward Tomás Ángel was born in England but grew up in Colombia and the U.S.
ON THE PITCH
The versatile O’Brien has played every midfield spot in his professional career. His favored foot is his left, but his reputation as a classic “box-to-box” midfielder has been earned with both feet. O’Brien made thirteen English Premier League appearances with Nottingham Forest in the 2022-23 season.
AS A LAD
Born and raised in Colchester, about 90 minutes northeast of London by car, O’Brien grew up supporting Manchester City, which made for some humorous conversations when he joined D.C. United in 2023. D.C.’s manager at the time, Wayne Rooney, is one of the great players in the history of Manchester United – City’s bitter rival.
GETTING PERSONAL
When O’Brien recently visited a school in Nottingham, he told the young students there that his greatest fear is “the sea, because it’s too big and too dark.” He named chocolate as his favorite sweet, and said that his guilty pleasure is scrolling TikTok.
CONNECTIONS
O’Brien was Huddersfield Town's Player of the Year for the 2019–20 EFL Championship season (England’s second tier). LAFC Co-President and General Manager John Thorrington made his professional debut as a player for Huddersfield Town in 2001, and made 97 appearances and scored seven goals for the historic club, which was founded in 1908.
O’Brien scored the EFL Goal of the Month in January 2020, a 22-yard missile in a 2-1 defeat at Barnsley.
HIGH STAKES
More than 80,000 fans were on hand at Wembley Stadium on May 29, 2022, when O’Brien played all 90 minutes of the EFL Championship playoff final to determine who would be promoted to the Premier League. O’Brien’s Huddersfield side fell to Nottingham Forest, 1–0. O’Brien, who made an impression during the match, joined Forest shortly afterward.
WITH HONORS
In 2022, O’Brien started for Forest versus Premier League giants Tottenham (whose goalie that day was current LAFC keeper Hugo Lloris) and West Ham. O’Brien was named Man of the Match following the West Ham contest, a 2-0 Forest win that marked the club’s first Premier League victory in 23 years.
BACK AND FORTH
In early 2023, O'Brien was due to be loaned to Blackburn Rovers of the EFL Championship, but the transfer was not ratified by the English Football League due to late submission of paperwork. O'Brien was subsequently left off of Nottingham Forest's 25-man Premier League squad for the rest of the season.
O’Brien signed a short-term loan deal with D.C. United, for whom he made 17 appearances (all starts) in the 2023 season. O’Brien scored his first and only MLS goal on April 15, 2023, tucking in a rebound versus Montreal that resulted in a 1-0 D.C. win.
OFF THE MARKET
O’Brien got married in June 2024. Congratulations, Lewis and Robin!
