Rangers will look to address the centre-half issue in the summer with Philippe Clement expected to be the type of manager who can spot a good one given that he played at international level in the position.
Ben Davies must be close to the top of the ‘for sale’ list and Leon Balogun’s advancing years mean that an extension should only be as a last resort or on terms that benefit the club.
Working on a budget is never easy when trying to secure quality or risk-free signings but this is the situation that Rangers and Philippe Clement find themselves in but, could one former Ibrox loanee represent a possible solution in the heart of defence?
Could Rangers entertain bid for out of favour Joe Worrall
One of the first things that Steven Gerrard did as Rangers manager was sort out the defence.
Out went players like Russell Martin, Danny Wilson and David Bates, and in came Connor Goldson, Nikola Katic and experienced campaigner Gareth McAuley.
There was an immediate improvement but, after links to Jake Cooper from Millwall never got finalised, reinforcements were sought in the shape of Joe Worrall from Nottingham Forest.
The England Under-21 international had a growing reputation and had already been the subject of a failed £10m bid from Burnley and was thrown in at the deepend against Villareal where he performed admirably.
The problem was, not only was he on loan, but he had taken the place of Nikola Katic, who had become an almost instant cult hero for his all-action style of play.
A critical mistake against Kilarmarnock all but sealed Worrall’s fate with the fans but things have changed since then.
As Forest captain he led his side to the Premier League before partnering Rangers-linked Scott McKenna in a season where they were never in danger of being relegated.
As always though, managers change and bring in their own players and what had been a successful pairing was split up.
Something had clearly happened behind the scenes when it emerged that both of them had been told not to train with the first-team.
McKenna went to Copenhagen and, grudgingly, Worrall has gone to Besiktas but it doesn’t look like the £4m agreed option to buy – according to Alan Nixon on Patreon – will be exercised with the player himself hinting at a return:
“I signed a new contract extension but obviously my game time was limited with the new manager coming in and the direction that the club wanted to go in.
“I’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 getting match fit and me sitting there is doing nobody any favours so it’s all about playing games and then we’ll see.”
It’s almost like he is waiting for a change of manager again but it is clear that, at 27-years old, he wants to be playing regularly and at a decent level.
£4m doesn’t go far nowadays but, if I was Philippe Clement, I’d be tempted to pick up the phone to Ross Wilson and ask if the price would be the same for Rangers.
Worrall, despite his mistake at Kilmarnock, is a good player.
He’s strong in the air and confident in possession, he has also developed leadership skills from his time as skipper at Forest.
Put it another way, if you could swap Ben Davies for Worrall without any real financial outlay, would you take it?
I know I would.
