Joe Worrall will leave Chris Hughton's Nottingham Forest side this summer if a suitable offer is submitted.

What's the talk?

That's according to The Sun journalist Alan Nixon, who claimed on Twitter that the centre-back is certain to leave the City Ground this summer if a "proper offer" is placed - with Forest believed to be demanding a fee in the region of £12 million for the defender.

There has been no shortage of interest reported in the £3.6 million-rated 24-year-old ahead of the summer transfer window, with all of Norwich City, Burnley and West Ham United thought to be keen on a move for the Nottingham-born man.

Fans will be gutted

Despite the fact that Hughton's side have had something of a season to forget in the Championship this term, Worrall has, nonetheless, proven one of the shining lights at the City Ground.

Over the defender's 30 league appearances for the club, he has helped his side to keep an impressive 12 clean sheets, as well as making an average of 1.1 interceptions, 0.7 tackles and 4.2 clearances per game, culminating in an average SofaScore match rating of 6.95 - ranking him as the club's fourth-best performer in the second tier.

As such, without the presence of the £10,000-per-week Worrall in the Forest backline this season, it is not a difficult scenario to imagine that the Reds would be in a rather more dangerous position than their current standing of 16th in the Championship table.

So, the claim that the former England U21 international looks almost certain to leave the club this summer is likely to come as unwelcome news for the Forest faithful, while the defender's departure would also present Hughton with a huge challenge in the summer transfer market - as the 24-year-old, whom Steven Gerrard dubbed as "outstanding" during a loan spell at Rangers,  will not be an easy man to replace.

In other news: Forget Grabban: Hughton must swoop for 6ft3 machine who could fire Forest up the table - opinion