Chris Hughton will be keen to strengthen his options in the final third this summer, after watching his Nottingham Forest side struggle in front of goal last term.

The Reds endured a disappointing Championship campaign, finishing 17th in the league table and scoring only 37 goals in 46 games.

Bringing in a striker or two this summer, then, will be a priority for Hughton, but retaining the services of another player at the other end of the pitch is also just as important.

Joe Worrall has gone from strength to strength since returning from an impressive loan spell at Rangers in 2018/19.

The defender was an ever-present under Sabri Lamouchi in the 2019/20 Championship campaign, and at the end of the 2020/21 season, he won the club's Player of the Season award after a string of impressive individual displays.

Worrall made only 31 appearances in the Championship this term after enduring problems with injury, but his partnership with Scott McKenna was mightily impressive at times.

Worrall, perhaps unsurprisingly, attracting interest. West Ham United, Brentford and Norwich City are all said to be keen on the 24-year-old, but it's Burnley who have been long-term admirers of the homegrown defender.

Reports from The Sun today, though, suggest that the Clarets could be set to switch their attention to other targets.

Burnley are hopeful of making a breakthrough in their pursuit of Nathan Collins, with the club set to bid £12million for the Stoke City defender.

At 20, Collins is another young, up and coming homegrown talent, who has really made his mark in the Championship.

Collins and Worrall are very similar, too. They are commanding central defenders who both operate on the right side of defence, potentially meaning that Burnley have identified him as an alternative for Worrall.

Worrall is bound to attract further interest between now and the start of the season, that's a given, especially considering the market clubs are operating in and the potential Worrall has.

But Burnley have had bids rejected for the defender in the past, and they hold a long-standing interest in Forest's star-man.

As these type of reports start to emerge, Forest can surely breathe a small sigh of relief.