Why Rangers must tie down Joe Worrall to a permanent deal

Rangers manager Steven Gerrard wants to sign on-loan defender Joe Worrall on a permanent deal, according to the Nottingham Post.

Worrall, 21, joined Rangers on a season-long loan from Championship outfit Nottingham Forest last month. He impressed in his debut for the Gers in a 2-2 draw with Villarreal in the Europa League last week.

A product of the Nottingham Forest academy, Worrall made his first-team debut for the club two years ago in October 2016. He has had loan spells in the League Two with Dagenham & Redbridge FC before making his senior team debut for Forest. Since making his debut for Forest, the 21-year-old went on to notch up 56 appearances for the senior team, scoring one goal.

Worrall has also impressed for the young Three Lions so far, captaining the side to Toulon Tournament success last year. Since then, the young defender has been impressive for England Under21’s and has made three appearances for them till date.

However, it hasn’t been an easy transition for Worrall from the Championship to the Scottish Premiership. He has struggled to get into the Rangers XI due to the likes of Connor Goldson and Nikola Katic performing consistently in central defence.

Goldson and Katic have forged a formidable centre-back pairing for Rangers this season and that has kept Worrall out of the first-team picture.

Gerrard has preferred the centre-back pairing of Goldson and Katic, and unless one of them gets injured, you simply cannot see Worrall get his opportunities apart from the various Cup games.

The Gers have also snapped up Gareth McAuley on a free transfer, although the veteran centre-back has been on the sidelines with an injury.

Despite getting very little game time, Worrall has shown impressive signs. He did have a tough debut against Villarreal but the 21-year-old did well at the buzzing El Madrigal in the Europa League tie to keep hold of his nerves.

And although Gerrard would be reluctant to disrupt the centre-back pairing of Goldson and Katic, Worrall could make a name for himself in the cup competitions by getting regular opportunities at the heart of Ranger’s central defence this term.

Worrall may have just made two appearances for the Ibrox outfit so far but the Nottingham Forest academy graduate has shown enough potential and promise in his young career. At just 21, Worrall has an entire career ahead of him and he can reach his true potential at Rangers under the watchful eyes of Gerrard.

Hence, if there is a leeway of turning the loan deal into a permanent one, Gerrard must do it without any hesitation.