Nottingham Forest have a decent number of players in their squad that have worked their way through the club’s youth ranks to become first-team figures.
One of those players, in particular, is currently listed as one of Forest’s most valuable assets in today’s market, showing how rewarding it can be for clubs to have a solid youth system and give the right players the chance to develop in the first team.
As a product of Forest’s youth system, 25-year-old Joe Worrall made his senior debut for the Midlands club back in October 2016 in a 2-0 defeat against Reading in the Championship under former manager Philippe Montanier.
Since then, the defender has gone on to make 171 appearances for the Reds across all competitions, chipping in with four goals and providing six assists along the way.
With 30 league appearances under his belt in this campaign, the Englishman has shown just how much of a useful player he is at the back for Steve Cooper by racking up more interceptions (62) than any other Forest player.
In addition to that, the defender has also made an average of 1.8 tackles, 3.4 clearances and 0.8 blocks per game, putting him in the top five for each statistic in the squad.
Praised for his “superb” tackle against Diogo Jota during Forest’s FA Cup defeat against Liverpool last month by journalist Paul Gorst, Worrall has certainly been a critical figure for his club this season.
To highlight how tough the centre-back is, Forest journalist Matt Davies tweeted that Worrall “must be made out of the same stuff as Wolverine,” in regards to the fact that the defender made a surprise early return from injury back in February after he broke three ribs a month earlier.
Back in February 2017, just a few months after making his senior debut, Transfermarkt rated the Englishman’s market value listed at £90k, whereas it now stands at £3.6m, making him the second-most valuable player in Cooper’s squad behind fellow defender Steve Cook.
Taking all of this into account, it’s safe to say the Reds hit the jackpot by unearthing and developing Worral into the prominent figure he is today.
In other news: Nottingham Forest loanee Davis likely to be available permanently…