Lewis O'Brien has revealed that signing a new contract at Huddersfield Town was a 'massive weight' off his shoulders amid potential transfer interest from Leeds United.
The 23-year-old was heavily linked with a move to the Whites in the summer as Marcelo Bielsa looked to strengthen his squad with the versatile midfielder.
However, O'Brien decided to stay at the Terriers and has since penned a new long-term deal that is expected to run until 2025.
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Having progressed through the ranks at Huddersfield, he made his senior debut at the start of the 2019/20 campaign after a short spell with Bradford City.
He went on to win the Terriers' Player of the Year during his first season and his excellent form attracted interest from the likes of Leeds, who were reportedly plotting a move in August.
The Whites were supposedly unwilling to match Town’s valuation and has ended up commiting his future to the club for the next three-and-a-half-years.
O'Brien insists he has no regrets about how things panned out, although he admitted the reported interest was a little bit of a distraction for him while the transfer window was open.
He said: "You think it’s easy to block out and that you’re not thinking about it but it’s always there in the back of your head every day – you’ll see something or someone, or one of your friends or family is messaging you about something.
"But personally I tried to block it out as much as I could and just concentrate on my football, which I do with anything. No matter’s what’s happening in life, what’s going on, I just try and focus on my personal game and try to play the best for the team that I possibly can.
"It was a massive weight off my shoulders when I signed my new contract. In the interview I did then I did go into further detail about how I felt about it and that it was the right step in my career.
"It was a massive weight off my shoulders and just allows me to play freely again for Huddersfield."
The Colchester-born midfielder has been a mainstay in the Terriers side this season, featuring 17 times across all competitions, scoring once.
Huddersfield face West Bromwich Albion in a repeat of the fixture that helped Leeds win promotion to the Premier League in July 2020 and O'Brien will be keen to replicate the same result this time around.
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