Worrall has the potential to be better than Katic if Gerrard can help him settle better

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As recently as January, Joe Worrall’s stock was sky-high. He was the subject of a £10m bid from Burnley, who were then flying high in the Premier League, but it was rejected as Nottingham Forest felt they could get more for their young, English asset.

The likes of Harry Maguire and Michael Keane have led top managers to look further down the pyramid for English centre-halves and Worrall’s performances put him in pole position to be next cab off the rank.

One transfer window and one Aitor Karanka spending spree later and Worrall found himself surplus to requirements at the City Ground, allowing Rangers to secure his services on a season-long loan spell.

Make no mistake, he has the talent to be in Steven Gerrard’s first-choice backline, ahead of Nikola Katic, but he has not shown it thus far.

It’s Gerrard’s job to find out why that is. Perhaps Worrall’s recent interview with the Rangers YouTube channel sheds some light.

Worrall gave the impression of somebody who is finding it tough living away from home and revealed how close he is to his mother.

If Gerrard can get his fellow Englishman to settle down better north of the border, he will have a genuinely classy defender on his hands.