Breaking: Coventry City reportedly closing in on deal to sign 27-year-old Nottingham Forest defender.

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

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.

Mark Robins has already added Luis Binks to his backline, re-signing the 22-year-old left-sided centre-back on a permanent deal after an encouraging season-long loan from Bologna. This means he will have four central defenders for the upcoming season, two on the right side in Bobby Thomas and Joel Latibeaudiere, and two on the left in Liam Kitching and Binks.

He began last season with five centre-backs, with Kyle McFadzean playing at the heart of a back three until midway through the season, when City reverted to a back four and the experienced defender went 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.