Coventry City transfer state of play as talks with Nottingham Forest man take place

Coventry City’s interest in Nottingham Forest defender Joe Worrall appears to have cooled, with the club switching their attention to other options.

The Sun’s transfer specialist Alan Nixon claimed recently that City, along with fellow Championship rivals Sheffield United, had been granted permission to talk to the 27-year-old centre-back whom the Reds are keen to sell.

The report, however, claimed the Sky Blues were looking for a loan rather than a permanent deal, which may well prove a sticking point for Forest who would prefer to cash in on the £4m-rated player, who is contracted at the City Ground until 2026.

CoventryLive understands that City have indeed spoken to Worrall but that wages also appear to be an issue.

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Mark Robins has already added Luis Binks to his rearguard, re-signing the 22-year-old left sided centre-half on a permanent deal following an encouraging season-long loan from Bologna, which means he continues to have four central defenders for the forthcoming campaign, two right-sided players in Bobby Thomas and Joel Latibeaudiere, plus two for the left in Liam Kitching and Binks.

He started last season with five centre-backs, with Kyle McFadzean deployed at the heart of a back three until midway through the campaign when City switched to a back four and the veteran defender moved to Blackburn Rovers.

Since then Robins has made the point that he could do with replacing the character and experience provided by McFadzean, but it’s unclear whether he would want five centre-halves competing for two available spots, assuming he sticks with a back four system.

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