Over the summer, Steven Gerrard was incredibly active in the transfer market as he brought in a whole host of new players, including 21-year-old Nottingham Forest defender, Joe Worrall on loan.
Under Gerrard, Rangers have enjoyed somewhat of a renaissance and have started to look like a side that could challenge Celtic for the title this season.
Among the areas where Gerrard strengthened over the summer was in defence, where the former Liverpool under-23 boss brought in four new players. Although he may have only made six appearances for Rangers in the league, Worrall has been very impressive when called upon by Gerrard.
Amid a very strong defensive contingent, Worrall has found it hard to get a run of games ahead of Connor Goldson, Nikola Katic and more recently Gareth McCauley. However, due to his impressive performances on loan at Rangers, Nottingham Forest boss, Aitor Karanka has admitted he has been pleased with his attitude and that he will have a place at the club if he returns as a better player.
If he can continue the form he’s shown so far for Rangers, the options for his next career move are completely open. Staying with Gerrard in Glasgow could well provide the defender with more guaranteed minutes next season, which at 21 is essential.
There again, if Karanka holds true to his promise, we could be seeing Worrall at the heart of the Forest defence next season and maybe for years to come. With Michael Dawson, Michael Hefele, Tobias Figueiredo and Danny Fox all at the club, it will certainly be difficult for him to break into the first-team but he does present a younger and more long-term option for Forest.
As it stands, there are plenty of paths for Worrall to go down and all he needs to do is to continue to put in solid performances everytime he plays for Rangers.
