Leeds United are reportedly battling it out with a Premier League side to secure the signing of a centre-back to bolster Daniel Farke's squad on deadline day.
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The Whites have agreed a deal to sign Connor Roberts on loan from Burnley and they are now turning their attention to the heart of their defence.
According to journalist Alan Nixon, via his Patreon account, the Yorkshire-based side are in a last-ditch battle with Sheffield United to sign Joe Worrall from Nottingham Forest.
The report claims, however, that the Blades may not be able to sign the defender on loan as they are also close to signing Mason Holgate on a temporary basis from Everton.
This would clear the path for the Whites to land the Tricky Trees skipper on loan, after Nuno Espirito Santo's side decided to drop their desire to sell him for £6m on a permanent deal this window.
Leeds reportedly had an offer rejected for Ben Godfrey towards the end of last month and Worrall would be a better option than the Toffees defender.
Ben Godfrey's form for Everton
The 26-year-old enforcer has only played three times in the Premier League this season but did start ten times for them during the 2022/23 campaign.
In that time, Godfrey lost 54% of his duels and made 2.1 tackles and interceptions combined per match in 13 top-flight outings to go along with a dreadful pass completion rate of 66%.
His last experience of regular Championship football came under Farke at Norwich in the 2018/19 season. The one-time England international made 31 appearances and caught the eye with 1.8 tackles and interceptions combined per game, and a pass success rate of 90%.
He also ranked within the top 21% of centre-backs within the division for progressive passes (3.35) per 90, which speaks to his forward-thinking play in possession.
The stats that show why Worrall is better than Godfrey
Worrall, however, has shown himself to be a better player than Godfrey at both Premier League and Championship level in recent seasons for Forest.
Appearances
30
Interceptions per game
0.9
Tackles per game
1.8
Duel success rate
61%
Pass accuracy
79%
As you can see in the table above, the £50k-per-week titan offered far more to Forest than his compatriot did for Everton in the top-flight last term, with a significantly better contribution in terms of his pass success rate and how often he won 50/50 duels against attackers.
Worrall's form in the Championship for the Tricky Trees during the 2021/22 promotion-winning campaign also suggests that he has more to offer than Godfrey at that level.
The 27-year-old ace, who BBC Radio's Colin Fray once hailed as "fantastic", ranked within the top 9% of centre-backs for progressive passes (4.56) per 90, which suggests that he could progress play more frequently than the Everton outcast each match.
Worrall also won 63% of his duels and made 3.7 tackles and interceptions combined per match across 39 outings that term as his side went up through the play-offs.
Therefore, the formerly £6m-rated machine would be a better signing than Godfrey due to his superior qualities on and off the ball, which is why this could be a fantastic late addition for the club on deadline day.