Murillo won Nottingham Forest's Player of the Season Award in his debut season for the club in the 2023/24 campaign. He helped the club narrowly avoid relegation following a turbulent season that saw the East Midlands outfit docked four points for breaching the Premier League's Profitability and Sustainability Rules (PSR). Interest in the young Brazilian began in January 2024, and it is expected that a formal bid will be lodged for the defender in the later stages of the window.
It was anticipated that Forest might need to sell Murillo ahead of the 30th June 'PSR deadline day' to comply with the rules, but these fears were eased with the sales of Orel Mangala and Moussa Niakhate to Lyon. Now that they have likely kept on the right side of these regulations, Forest can stand firm on Murillo's valuation, with Chelsea, Arsenal and Liverpool set to test the club's resolve. Here is a guide to the 22-year-old defender ahead of the 2024/25 Premier League season.
Career
Murillo
Murillo spent his early years playing futsal, starting at the age of six. It wasn't until he was 10 that he started playing 11-a-side. The Brazilian spent time at various clubs across Sao Paulo, including Sao Caetano, ECUS, and Sao Bernardo. At the age of 16, Murillo decided to play 11-a-side football instead of futsal, as he signed a contract with the youth team at Corinthians. Before playing for the Brazilian giants, he had played as a striker and in midfield, but quickly after he joined the club, he was converted into a left-sided defender.
After impressing for the Under-20s in the Copinha at the start of 2023, Murillo was promoted to the first team. Due to injuries in the squad, he made his senior debut for the club in April 2023, coming on in a 2-0 win against Remo in the Copa do Brasil. He then made 13 league appearances for Corinthians for the rest of the year before attracting interest from various European clubs.
The list of suitors included West Ham United, Napoli and Nottingham Forest, and the two-time European champions were the ones to formalise their interest and conclude a deal. Forest signed the Brazilian defender for a fee of around £11 million, which has become a bargain price after an impressive season for the Tricky Trees. Murillo made 32 Premier League appearances for the Reds and established himself as a key figure for the club as they secured survival for the second consecutive season. Ahead of the upcoming campaign, there is significant interest in the former Corinthians defender, who looks tailor-made to play for one of Europe's elite teams.
Defensively, Murillo is solid, and he is particularly useful at stopping transitions due to his strength and ability to cover ground quickly. This was on display during Forest's 3-2 defeat against Brighton & Hove Albion in November 2023. With the game in the dying stages, Brighton's Joao Pedro was seemingly through on goal with a chance to finish the game. However, Murillo sprinted across and perfectly timed a left-footed slide tackle to kickstart a counter attack.
A slight concern for the Brazilian defender is his heading statistics, as last season he lost over half of his aerial duels. His 48.7% aerial duel win percentage was the 117th best in the Premier League, according to FBREF. In fact, he won 1.23 aerials per 90 minutes in the 2023/24 campaign, which was lower than the average of 2.13 for centre-backs in the men's top five leagues across Europe.
Similar players to Murillo
#
Player
Team
Nation
1
Thomas Kristensen
Udinese
Denmark
2
Joachim Andersen
Crystal Palace
Denmark
3
Toti Gomes
Wolverhampton Wanderers
Portugal
4
Ignasi Miguel
Granada
Spain
5
Reece Burke
Luton Town
England
Data sourced from FBREF
Nottingham Forest manager Nuno Espirito Santo and owner Evangelos Marinakis
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Chelsea, Liverpool and Arsenal Interested in Murillo
murillo-transfer-interest
Since the turn of the year, there has been significant interest in Murillo, especially from the richest Premier League clubs. Chelsea have "asked for information" about signing the 22-year-old defender this summer, as they are looking to fill the void left by Thiago Silva. Tosin Adarabioyo has already joined the club from Fulham, but the Blues are still in the market for another central defender. They are hopeful that including Trevoh Chalobah as part of a deal to sign Murillo can boost their chances. Forest have been long-term admirers of Chalobah, but he rejected a move to the Reds on deadline day in September 2023.
Nuno Espirito Santo's side value the defender at around £70 million, and the sales of Mangala and Niakhate before the 30th June PSR deadline mean that they won't be selling Murillo for a cut price. Arsenal and Liverpool are the other Premier League clubs that have expressed an interest in signing the defender, but a move away from the City Ground doesn't seem imminent. He was pictured with Nuno during Forest's first pre-season training session on Monday 9th July, and it remains unclear whether a significant bid for the youngster will come through in the next couple of months.
Murillo is definitely open to joining a financially superior club in the English top flight, as shown by his interview on the Benja Me Mucho podcast. He said:
“I had the dream of playing in the Premier League and I had that thought. I thought: ‘I’ll go to Nottingham Forest, have a good year and then I’ll go to a big club’. I had that in my head. I’d choose Manchester City but it would be more difficult for me to be a regular starter given the players they have in their squad. There’s City, Arsenal as well, who are fighting for the Premier League title. I wouldn’t discard Liverpool either, it would be a good opportunity for me to show my football in a big club."
The summer transfer window will close on 30th August at 11pm in the UK. With Murillo open to leaving the club and clubs such as Chelsea closely monitoring his progress, there is no guarantee that he will still be a Forest player in September. With his contract expiring in 2028 and Forest already selling players for big money in June, supporters will be relaxed that the club is in a good position.
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