Fulham join race for West Ham United summer target Joe Worrall – report
Fulham have joined the race for West Ham target Joe Worrall ahead of a summer move for the Nottingham Forest defender, according to The Sun.
The 25-year-old will stay with the Reds should they be promoted to the Premier League amid their play-off campaign.
However, should Steve Cooper’s side fail in their efforts against Huddersfield in the final, the door will be open for a move at the end of the season.
Fulham are now in the mix for the centre-back as they look to strengthen their defence on their return to the Premier League.
Brendan Rodgers’ Leicester City are also keeping an eye on Forest’s campaign as they look to bring Worrall to the King Power Stadium next season.
The Englishman’s City Ground contract expires in 2024 having signed an extension in February of 2023.
No brainer.
Worral would much, much rather join a team that is battling for Champions League football and enjoying emphatic European journeys like West Ham rather than Fulham or Leicester.
If he is going to make the step up to the top level, he might as well do it properly because he may never get this opportunity again if he makes the wrong call.
He might be worried about a lack of game time at the London Stadium but if this season is anything to go by, he will get plenty of opportunities.
All of the Irons’ centre-backs have faced spells on the sidelines this season and if that happens again – the door would be left wide open for him to stake his claim in the team.
Not to mention the age of all of the existing centre-backs in the squad. Angelo Ogbonna and Craig Dawson will leave the club very soon as they near the end of their careers.
With Issa Diop not good enough to establish himself as a mainstay under Moyes, there is plenty of opportunities for Worrall to be the long-term partner of Kurt Zouma.
In other West Ham news, Martin Samuel has responded to the latest West Ham London Stadium developments dubbing it the “deal of the century”.
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