This article is part of Football League World’s ‘The Verdict’ series, which provides personal opinions from the FLW writers regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…
West Ham are interested in a summer move for Nottingham Forest defender Joe Worrall, a report from a print edition of The Sun (02/05, p61) has claimed.
The Hammers are said to be in the market for another defender this summer, with manager David Moyes seemingly keen to add some extra depth at centre back, with Worrall one that the club are seemingly keen on.
Newly promoted Norwich City and West Ham's Premier League rivals Burnley have also been linked with a potential move for Worrall recently, with the 24-year-old attracting plenty of attention for his performances with Forest.
The centre back has made a total of 136 appearances in all competitions for Forest, and has three years remaining on his current contract at The City Ground.
But would Worrall be a good signing for West Ham? And is he a player they need to bring to The London Stadium?
We put those questions to some of our Football League World writers, and here, is a look at what they had to say.
Ben Wignall
West Ham have a plethora of centre-backs - do they really need Worrall?
Right now they've got Craig Dawson, Fabian Balbuena, Issa Diop and Angelo Ogbonna - not to mention Aaron Cresswell sometimes playing on the left of a back three - so unless one is being sold this summer I couldn't see Worrall really fitting in.
He wouldn't necessarily be an improvement on any of them either - he's a talented player for sure but West Ham have aspirations of playing in Europe next season and I don't think Worrall is at that level.
I can see him playing in the Premier League next season, but not for the Hammers.
Jordan Rushworth
Worrall would be a very good potential signing for West Ham this summer and he is a player that has proven himself to be a class above the Championship with his performances in the last two seasons.
The Hammers have recruited well from the Championship in recent times, and the defender would be another one who you could see being a success at West Ham. He would has proven himself to be a very solid performer and also shown he has quality in possession as well, those are qualities that would see him well suited to the top-flight.
The defender is good enough to be starting games for the Hammers you feel and he could provide some quality competition and add to an already strong group of centre-backs.
Given the success Moyes has had at West Ham in the transfer market recently, they should be prepared to back him to bring in Worrall. It would be a very smart piece of business.
Toby Wilding
I could see this being a decent signing for West Ham.
Given the Hammers are seemingly keen to add a new centre back to their squad this summer, it could make sense for them to pursue a deal for Worrall.
The 24-year-old has become hugely impressive during what has been something of a difficult season at the City Ground, and he is starting to get to that stage of his career, where after spending several years in the Championship, he now might want to start thinking about the step up to the Premier League.
That is something he does seem to be ready for, and with West Ham in a strong position to qualify for Europe this season, it could make sense for them to bring in a reliable defender such as Worrall to help them compete on several fronts in the 2021/22 campaign.
