Arsenal and Chelsea look set to compete for the signing of Nottingham Forest stopper Murillo, who has reportedly decided he is ready to take the next step.
Forest have numerous valuable assets in their squad after a successful 2024-25 campaign in which they ended a 30-year wait for European football. They are, remarkably, already on their third manager of the season, but Sean Dyche has steadied the ship and is looking to move them away from the relegation zone and towards the top 10.
Murillo, Elliot Anderson and Morgan Gibbs-White have been some of their best performers, and their classy displays have resulted in links with some of England’s biggest sides.
Gibbs-White’s transfer to Tottenham Hotspur fell through, with Murillo and Anderson now more likely to move on.
Arsenal and Chelsea are showing the most interest in Brazilian centre-back Murillo, and the Daily Mail report that he will push to exit Forest at the end of the season.
The 23-year-old is ‘settled’ in Nottingham but knows next summer could be the perfect time to join an elite club, and, in turn, pick up a significant pay rise.
He penned a new contract at the City Ground in January, though that is not expected to be enough to stop him from leaving in a mega-money deal.
The report names Chelsea as ‘long-term admirers’ of Murillo, while Real Madrid are ‘keeping a close eye’ on his form as they sound out defensive targets.
Forest will hold out for at least £70million (€80m / $93m) before letting their best defender go.
The one-cap Brazil international has been identified as someone who can challenge William Saliba and Gabriel Magalhaes for a starting place.
However, there is good reason to suggest Murillo should pick Chelsea instead. Levi Colwill is out for most of the season with an ACL injury, while Enzo Maresca has doubts over Tosin Adarabioyo and Axel Disasi.
Murillo stands a much better chance of getting into Chelsea’s starting lineup given their defensive frailties.
Elsewhere, Chelsea do have other options, in case they miss out on Murillo’s capture next year.
