According to journalist Gianluigi Longari, Chelsea are back in the race to acquire the services of Murillo from Nottingham Forest in the summer. The former club have even started the negotiations to reach an agreement for the defender.
Murillo’s impressive debut season
Murillo signed for Nottingham Forest last summer from Corinthians. Despite having no prior experience in the Premier League, he took no time to adapt and started delivering the outcomes. He has been a solid performer for the English outfit.
Murillo has already become an integral part of the squad. He featured in 36 games this season and managed to get two assists to his name. He also averaged 1.6 tackles, 1.2 interceptions, and 5.8 clearances per game (stats via whoscored).
The Brazilian is a technically strong defender who excels in tackling and blocking the shots. He likes to play long passes and often dribbles to advance forward. Apart from clearing the ball out of defence, he also maintains high intensity throughout the 90 minutes.
Nottingham Forest to demand good sum for Murillo
Chelsea were linked to Murillo earlier but then they turned their focus towards Bologna defender Riccardo Calafiori. It allows them the chance to go after another name if they fail to bring the Brazilian in the summer.
As the Blues have lost Thiago Silva as a free agent, they are in need of a quality centre-back. Hence, they have returned to make an effort to reach an agreement for Murillo. The 22-year-old is a solid performer who has already proven his worth.
As Murillo has leadership qualities, his addition will be good. Moreover, he can serve the club for many years should he improve a couple of characteristics in his game. The player still has four years left on his contract with Nottingham Forest.
It means that they will demand a premium fee from Chelsea. It will be interesting to see if they will be able to strike a deal or not.
