Latest news with #LewisOBrien
Daily Mail
5 days ago
- Sport
- Daily Mail
Wrexham sign Premier League star as Hollywood owners bankroll squad upgrade ahead of Championship season
Lewis O'Brien is determined to 'take Wrexham to where they want to be' after becoming the Welsh club's sixth summer signing. O'Brien has completed a move to North Wales from Nottingham Forest for an undisclosed fee, with the 26-year-old midfielder joining the Red Dragons on a three-year contract. 'I'm absolutely buzzing. It's been a long time coming, but to be here is great,' O'Brien told the Wrexham website. 'The last couple of years has been a whirlwind for me and my family, but to sign a long-term contract and find somewhere I can call home is a great feeling. 'After speaking to everyone here, it's a club with a lot of ambition. I want to be part of that journey, and take Wrexham to where they want to be.' O'Brien has played more than 150 games in the Sky Bet Championship, first with Huddersfield then in loan spells at Middlesbrough and Swansea during his time registered to Forest. Wrexham's Hollywood owners Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney have recruited heavily ahead of their return to the second tier of English football after a 43-year absence Wrexham manager Phil Parkinson said: 'I'm delighted to welcome Lewis to the club. 'He's a player with a lot of experience at this level and will be a great addition to the group.' Wrexham's Hollywood owners Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney have recruited heavily ahead of their return to the second tier of English football after a 43-year absence. Wales goalkeeper Danny Ward, left-back Liberato Cacace, midfielder George Thomason and strikers Josh Windass and Ryan Hardie have already bolstered numbers at the Stok Racecourse.
New York Times
5 days ago
- Sport
- New York Times
Wrexham confirm signing of midfielder Lewis O'Brien from Nottingham Forest
Lewis O'Brien has left Nottingham Forest to join Championship side Wrexham. The 26-year-old midfielder has led a nomadic existence since joining then newly promoted Forest in the summer of 2022, in a £10million package deal from Huddersfield, which also included Harry Toffolo. O'Brien has made 17 appearances for Forest, including six Premier League starts, amid loan spells with DC United, Middlesbrough, Los Angeles FC and Swansea. And he remained surplus to requirements under Nuno Espirito Santo, as Forest prepare for their fourth season back in the top flight. But he will now join Wrexham, who will compete in the second tier for the first time in 40 years in the coming campaign, after securing their third consecutive promotion. 'I'm absolutely buzzing. It's been a long time coming, but to be here is great,' O'Brien said in a statement on Wrexham's website. 'The last couple of years has been a whirlwind for me and my family, but to sign a long-term contract and find somewhere I can call home is a great feeling. Advertisement 'After speaking to everyone here, it's a club with a lot of ambition. I want to be part of that journey, and take Wrexham to where they want to be.' The Welsh side, managed by Phil Parkinson, will view O'Brien's experience in the Championship – where he has played with three different clubs – as a valuable asset.
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Wrexham close in on Forest midfielder O'Brien
Wrexham are closing on the signing of Nottingham Forest midfielder Lewis O'Brien. The 26-year-old has been linked with a number of Championship clubs this summer after an impressive loan spell at Swansea City in the second half of last season. Swansea had been keen to re-sign O'Brien, though their hopes always looked a little slim because of the finances involved in a potential deal. Wrexham are now poised to win the race for the former Huddersfield Town player's signature. O'Brien has a year to run on his Forest contract, meaning Wrexham are likely to pay significant fee for his services as well as meeting his salary demands. He will leave the City Ground having made only 17 appearances since joining Forest following their promotion to the Premier League in 2022. Wrexham sign ex-Owls forward Windass Wrexham sign Bolton midfielder Thomason O'Brien played 16 times for Swansea after joining on loan in the mid-season window, and played a key role as they pulled clear of relegation danger to finish 11th. He also had loan spells at Los Angeles FC, Middlesbrough and DC United after falling out of favour at Forest. O'Brien's signing would be another statement of intent by Wrexham, who are owned by Hollywood stars Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney, as they prepare for life in the Championship after three successive promotions. The north Wales club have already brought in goalkeeper Danny Ward from Leicester City, forward Ryan Hardie from Plymouth Argyle, left-back Liberato Cacace for a club-record fee from Empoli, midfielder George Thomason from Bolton Wanderers and forward Josh Windass, who was a free agent after leaving financially troubled Sheffield Wednesday.
BBC News
5 days ago
- Sport
- BBC News
Wrexham close in on Forest midfielder O'Brien
Wrexham are closing on the signing of Nottingham Forest midfielder Lewis O' 26-year-old has been linked with a number of Championship clubs this summer after an impressive loan spell at Swansea City in the second half of last had been keen to re-sign O'Brien, though their hopes always looked a little slim because of the finances involved in a potential are now poised to win the race for the former Huddersfield Town player's signature.O'Brien has a year to run on his Forest contract, meaning Wrexham are likely to pay significant fee for his services as well as meeting his salary will leave the City Ground having made only 17 appearances since joining Forest following their promotion to the Premier League in 2022. O'Brien played 16 times for Swansea after joining on loan in the mid-season window, and played a key role as they pulled clear of relegation danger to finish also had loan spells at Los Angeles FC, Middlesbrough and DC United after falling out of favour at Forest.O'Brien's signing would be another statement of intent by Wrexham, who are owned by Hollywood stars Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney, as they prepare for life in the Championship after three successive north Wales club have already brought in goalkeeper Danny Ward from Leicester City, forward Ryan Hardie from Plymouth Argyle, left-back Liberato Cacace for a club-record fee from Empoli, midfielder George Thomason from Bolton Wanderers and forward Josh Windass, who was a free agent after leaving financially troubled Sheffield Wednesday.
ABC News
11-07-2025
- Entertainment
- ABC News
New 'soul of Port Adelaide' Aboriginal culture centre opens
"I'll play it, then I'll come back and show you how I did it." The deep, hypnotic sound of one of the oldest instruments in the world fills the room as Otis Carter teaches a group of young boys and teenagers how to circular breathe when playing what's commonly known as the didgeridoo. "See my cheek with that bubble there, it's pushing a bit of air through," Mr Carter explained. The lesson is being held as part of a NAIDOC family day at the newly-opened Yitpi Yartapuultiku Aboriginal Cultural Centre on the banks of Adelaide's Port River. It's a wet and wintry day outside, but inside the place is teeming with hundreds of excited children, dashing between drawing and painting, weaving, play areas and workshops. A place for Kaurna people to gather and share culture and stories in Adelaide is a dream come true for elders like 95-year-old Lewis O'Brien. "It started really probably 30 years ago when the old people got together and they said we should have a centre," Uncle Lewis explained. "Yitpi Yartapuultiku means soul of Port Adelaide and it's turned out to be exactly that … everyone comes here now. "It's a community centre that everyone feels happy about, a place of wellbeing and reflection, and you can walk the dog and the kids can play on the playgrounds … you've got the sea at the back, you got a dance ground outside, you got places inside." Yitpi Yartapuultiku Aboriginal Cultural Centre opened on June 1 with a showcase of Kaurna dance, music and culture, alongside a self-guided trail, exhibitions and art and craft stalls. It is estimated more than 11,000 people flocked to the event, something the centre's CEO Lee-Ann Buckskin said she won't forget. "I was in-between the two buildings, the breezeway, and I turned around and I just saw this tsunami of people walking towards me, and I just, at that moment, went, 'goodness me the people have spoken'," she explained. The Port Adelaide Enfield council built the $35.2 million state-of-the-art centre, with the federal government contributing $2.3 million toward a living shoreline at the river bank. The work includes regenerating the entire area with native plants, including replanting mangroves and reeds endemic to the area. The are also plans for a bush food garden. The council's Aboriginal Advisory group and Kaurna elders and community were the driving force behind the centre's design and development. "This place was really chatting for a few years, like five years, I think," Uncle Lewis said. "We met with the colleges, we met with architects, we met with the council members. "You don't waste your time by yarning, you make a very productive design when you do a lot of people, discussing with a lot of different people, and bringing those thoughts together and you become unified and develop place like this." The co-design approach also involved hands-on workshops. "The architects got kinetic sand and the elders sat around a table and had a sense of this place as flat, but with the kinetic sand built the landscape to how they wanted it to be used," Ms Buckskin added. "So, what we see are undulating spaces throughout and that is almost wrapped up with beautiful native plants." Ongoing plans include training in hospitality and tourism, from running conferences at the centre to regular guided tours, along with attracting visitors from the cruise ships that dock in the Port. "Our hope is that our kids get the opportunity to be able to get some employment through the kitchen, out into the conference space and café," Ms Buckskin said. "We're really wanting to have a learning environment for people. "So we'll be looking at offering language classes … a range of different things in terms of artefact making and activities which people are looking for … people booking in classes to learn about native foods." Ms Buckskin explains Yitpi, as it is affectionately known, is a place for everyone to enjoy while reflecting and supporting Kaurna people and community. "It's really a place not only for the broader community to be curious and learn around Kaurna culture and broader Aboriginal culture, but it's a place for cultural maintenance," she said. "And that's really important to our future generations, as in terms of their identity and their cultural practices into the future." For organisers of the NAIDOC family day, events like these make that vision a reality. As the winter winds and heavy rain beat against windows that offer a scape to the cultural dance ground, walking paths and the river bank, a young teenager brings the didgeridoo to life — sparking a smile from his teacher. "I'm just looking around and seeing these kids connected to everything that's happening," organiser Kahlia Miller-Koncz said. "It makes them stronger in their identity; it makes them feel proud." For Uncle Lewis, it is a sign of the times. "We've thought about that for a long time, that we should exchange knowledge," he explained. "We think people are ready to for change, to think in a different way. "How did we last 65,000 years? We didn't do it by aimless wandering. "We did it by beautiful thinking and learning with each other and not be envious of anyone else, just love your own country. "And I think that's the way we should live in the rest of the world."
