Nottingham Forest man has already dropped future transfer hint as Sheffield United "open talks" over deal

Joe Worrall has already dropped a potential hint about his future after speculation linking him with a summer move to Sheffield United resurfaced again. The Nottingham Forest defender was a Blades target in January, but he instead spent the second half of the season on loan with Beşiktaş in Turkey.

The former Forest skipper had dropped down the pecking order at the City Ground, with United initially launching a move to bring him to Bramall Lane on loan back in January. But Forest initially refused and only wanted to sell Worrall - and by the time they changed their mind on deadline day and agreed to a loan, the Blades had already moved for Everton’s Mason Holgate instead.

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United’s need for defensive reinforcements remains, with Holgate returning to Everton and Chris Basham being released. Skipper John Egan is also out of contract but could remain at Bramall Lane if he recovers from an Achilles injury sufficiently and can agree fresh terms, amid uncertainty over the future ownership of the club.

Teamtalk have claimed that the Blades have “opened talks” with Forest over a move for Worrall, who is under contract until the summer of 2026. Forest are under pressure to sell some of their fringe players before the end of this month, with reports suggesting they have to raise £20m to avoid further breaches of financial rules and another potential points deduction.

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United have also been interested in Worrall’s Forest teammate Lewis O’Brien and the defender, speaking last season about his future, said: “I signed a new contract extension but obviously my game time was limited with the new manager coming in and the direction that the club wanted to go in.

“I’ve played two games under Nuno but we’re well stocked at Forest, there’s a lot of talent and a lot of good players at Forest. For me, it’s all about getting match fit and me sitting there is doing nobody any favours so it’s all about playing games ... and then we’ll see.”

Boss Chris Wilder has already declared this current transfer window as United’s biggest in a decade as they look to assemble a squad capable of an instant promotion challenge, after losing more than 10 players from last season’s relegation squad. But he is understood to have been hampered in his hopes of hitting the ground running in the transfer market, by the indecision caused by the ongoing takeover bid by a US-based consortium.