Nottingham Forest let 24 players depart the club during the summer transfer window, including defender Joe Worrall.
The staunch academy graduate had dropped far down the pecking order and joined Burnley for an undisclosed price, ending his long relationship with the club.
Nuno Espirito Santo considered keeping Worrall, but it was ultimately agreed that he would leave, with the player eager to play regular football.
Worrall made 226 appearances for the club, 37 of which were in the Premier League, and he had a dream come true with the team he calls his own.
Worrall’s situation deteriorated after he had a disagreement with Steve Cooper. However, prior to his departure, he may have had a lasting impression on youngster Zach Abbott.
How Joe Worrall helped Zach Abbott in Spain
Abbott is the new kid on the block, and he earned his senior debut in the Carabao Cup penalty shootout loss to Newcastle last week.
Espirito Santo took him on a pre-season tour to Spain, where he played in three friendly games.
John Percy was granted entry to the camp for The Telegraph, and he has revealed what Worrall was entrusted with doing with Abbott during the trip.
He stated on the Forest Focus podcast, “The energy around the location in Spain – I’ve covered Forest for a long time and I’ve never seen anything like that.
“It was a very tight-knit bunch. Everyone was together, and Joe Worrall was essentially Zach Abbott’s bodyguard, followed him wherever he went.
“Clearly that was under the club’s orders so that was a great experience for him.”
Abbott can benefit from Worrall guidance
Okay, the Premier League may have been too much for Worrall, but he will always be remembered for bringing the squad to promotion in 2021/22.
He led his boyhood club to victory in a Wembley final, and it will never be taken away from him.
Abbott will now have the opportunity to show that he can be the next player to progress from the academy to first-team prominence.
Going out of the Carabao Cup will not improve his chances of playing time in the immediate term, but there is now hope that he will get more minutes as a Forest player.