Nottingham Forest could be set for a difficult battle in the summer to keep ahold of star centre-back Joe Worrall, who is attracting significant interest from Premier League clubs ahead of a potential transfer at the end of the season.
It will be difficult to replace the defender, who has become a key man in manager Steve Cooper’s side, who are looking to reach the play-offs with a view to earning promotion and a return to the top flight for next campaign.
Should the club fail to secure their ticket into the Premier League, they might have to smartly replace Worrall with a transfer with good value for money – and Zulte Waregem central defender Cameron Humphreys could prove the solution to the problem.
What’s the news?
According to The Daily Mail, the Manchester City youth academy graduate is a hot property among Championship clubs, with Luton, Blackburn and Huddersfield just three of the teams believed to have enquired in his services.
Forest are also interested, and with the 23-year-old set to leave the Belgian Pro League club at the end of the season with his contract expiring – meaning the East Midlands club would be able to replace Worrall with a solid free transfer for a player that would be able to develop with the team.
He’s a top flight level defender
Former Manchester City U23’s coach and current Anderlecht assistant manager Simon Davies once tipped the £675k-rated star to realise his potential of becoming a “real leader'”, and while in Belgium, he has become a more experienced man who could bring maturity and composure to the Forest back-line.
Averaging a 6.62 match rating according to SofaScore for the struggling Pro League outfit, Humphreys is outshone by Worrall in a number of defensive areas.
That includes tackles per game (Worrall’s 1.8 vs Humphreys’ 1.3), clearances per game (Worrall’s 3.3 vs Humphreys’ 2.9) and league clean sheets (Worrall’s 11 vs Humphreys’ 4).
Without context, it might look like the Forest star is miles ahead of the former Man City prospect, however, given that Humphreys is playing in a top-flight European league, it is understandable that he would appear behind the former Rangers loanee playing in the second tier.
However, bearing in mind his leadership skills, he’d certainly be a suitable replacement for Worrall.
Aged just 23, the potential transfer would most likely prove to be an excellent move, and even if it doesn’t work out for him with Forest, he would likely command a healthy profit for the club given that he would sign for free this summer.
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