A medical has been scheduled for tomorrow if personal terms can be agreed upon with the Irish international. He is reportedly being offered a five-year contract by the Premier League side.

O’Brien had a breakthrough season this year in France having struggled to find game time in England since he left Cork City for Crystal Palace. Eventually after loans at Swindon Town and RWD Molenbeek, the centre-back was sold to Lyon last summer. The defender was far from then-manager Laurent Blanc’s first choice, but game time steadily grew under Fabio Grosso and then Pierre Sage.

Lyon ended the season qualifying for the Europa League and reaching the Coupe de France final where they were defeated by Paris Saint-Germain. O’Brien scored in that game becoming the first Irishman since Bernard Williams in 1937 to score in a Coupe de France final.