Joe Worrall has transferred the state of play as Coventry City linked with the Nottingham Forest man

If the latest Coventry City transfer speculation is to be believed, the Sky Blues have been given permission to speak to Nottingham Forest centre-back Joe Worrall.

That’s according to The Sun’s transfer pundit Alan Nixon, who claims City, along with fellow Championship rivals Sheffield United, have been given permission to hold talks with the 27-year-old centre-back, who the Reds are keen to sign – sell it. However, the report says, Coventry are looking for a loan rather than a permanent deal, which could prove a sticking point for Forest, who would prefer to cash in on the £4million-rated defender who is contracted to City Ground until 2026.

Mark Robins has already added Luis Binks to his rearguard, re-signing the 22-year-old left centre-half on a permanent deal following an encouraging season-long loan at Bologna. That means they continue to have four centre-backs for next campaign, two right-backs in Bobby Thomas and Joel Latibeaudiere and two left-backs in Liam Kitching and Binks.

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He started last season with five centre-backs, with Kyle McFadzean deployed in the center of a back three until midway through the campaign when City switched to a back four and the veteran defender moved to Blackburn Rovers. Robins has since emphasized that he could replace the character and experience McFadzean offers, but it is unclear whether he would want five centre-halves competing for two available places, assuming he sticks with a back-four system.

He may, of course, want the flexibility to use both formations, depending on the opposition and the circumstances.

Here we speak to Matt Davies from the Forest podcast, Forest Focus, who has followed, reported and commented on the club for several years, to get his take on Worrall’s situation, availability and the likelihood of a move to Coventry.

“I would say Forest’s career is probably coming to an end,” he said. “He was captain when Forest were promoted, when he was such a big part of the team. He was good in the Premier League in terms of looks and starts. When he had some really good individual games, but lacked consistency in form, and that was probably the biggest barrier to keeping a regular place when the club signed players around him.

“But that doesn’t mean he’s not a good player. Away from. He went out on loan to Besiktas in January and is now back and I’m sure Forest are keen to offload him, mainly because of his squad status but also because of the PSR (Profit and Sustainability Regulation). They have to sell players and as an Academy graduate, Joe would have a 100% return on the books.”

He added: “If Coventry want a loan deal, I don’t think Forest would be keen on that. I think they were only keen on a cash deal initially, so that might be the biggest barrier. But I think he will move on this summer and be the kind of top Championship player/lower bracket of Premier League player that I imagine would be the kind of player that Coventry wanted.”

On his best position and whether he would be a good fit for the Sky Blues, Davies said: “He is right-footed and has a good range of passes. When Forest were promoted and in the first season until Philippe Montanier came in, he was the best on the ball. He would play on the right side of a three or in the middle of a three.

“His big weakness is that he’s not the fastest, so his lack of pace probably stops him from being a top defender, but he’s a good leader, a good captain and although we haven’t seen McFadzean that much, I would imagine that’d be that type of substitute in terms of character and player profile; do all the nasty things in the championship. His strengths are driving, organization, passing and is a decent reader of the game.

“He’s also very confident and when he first came into the Forest dressing room he spoke his mind and was a real dressing room leader. “

What Joe Worrall said

Speaking after signing his contract extension last year, he told talkSPORT: “I signed a new contract extension but obviously my playing time was limited with the new manager coming in and the direction the club wanted to go. to go.

“We’ve played two games under Nuno but we’re well stocked at Forest, there’s a lot of talent and a lot of good players at Forest. For me it’s all about fitting in and me sitting there I’m not doing anybody any favors so it’s all about playing games and then we’ll see.”

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