Crooked lout with nerve to step forward (9)
I believe the answer is:
volunteer
'step forward' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
'crooked lout with nerve' is the wordplay.
'crooked' indicates an anagram.
'with' is a charade indicator (letters next to each other).
'lout' after 'nerve' is 'nervelout'.
'nervelout' is an anagram of 'VOLUNTEER'.
'to' acts as a link.
(Other definitions for volunteer that I've seen before include "One enlisting of own free will" , "tender service" , "Put oneself forward" , "person working for free, perhaps" , "Offer to work for nothing" .)