Following on from our assessment of Gareth McAuley, it’s time to look at another centre-back, in Joe Worrall.
The former England youth international signed for Rangers on a season-long loan from Nottingham Forest, back in August [BBC Sport].
He came with a big reputation, too.
After all, Forest reportedly turned down an £11.5m bid for his services from Burnley the previous January [Daily Mail].
Transfermarkt value him at £7.2m, which is higher than any other Rangers player.
After waiting a while to get his first opportunity, he started brightly. Strong European performances against Spartak Moscow and Villarreal, proved him capable of partnering Connor Goldson at the back.
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However, errors were never too far away.
In the opening stages of the trip to Dundee in December for example, he was caught out of position by Kenny Miller who opened the scoring for the hosts. Worrall’s distribution was also woeful that day, and the Gers dropped two points.
Fast forward to after the winter break and his biggest faux pas of the season came at Rugby Park. With the Gers 1-0 up and in control, he was caught in possession and Eamonn Brophy netted an equaliser. Killie went on to win the game and it had huge ramifications in the title race.
However, it would be unfair to highlight just those regrettable moments.
The Englishman was outstanding in the 1-0 Ibrox Old Firm win in December and bounced back from his Kilmarnock error to help the Gers register six clean sheets in February. By the end of the campaign, he had turned out 32 times in all competitions.
Inconsistency, then, marked Worrall’s time at Rangers. £7.2m does look a stretch right now, but he’s got great potential and particularly if he cuts out those brain fades he has a big future ahead of him.
