Murillo to become most expensive defender in history to leave Nottingham Forest
Nottingham Forest have placed a huge asking price on defender Murillo as the Tricky Trees look to maintain their squad ahead of European football this season.
Forest have sold Anthony Elanga to Newcastle in this window, and the club do not want to offload any more of their key players.
Amid interest from Spurs, Forest were able to tie Morgan Gibbs-White down to a new contract.
Nuno Espirito Santo led the club to a seventh placed Premier League finish last season and Nottingham Forest will play in the Europa League instead of Crystal Palace after a CAS ruling demoted the Eagles to the Europa Conference League.
Forest lay down Murillo valuation
The Athletic [11 August] stated that if a club wanted to sign Murillo they “have to make him the most expensive defender in history.”
The report continued that: “Most of the biggest clubs in Europe have been keeping an eye on his progress, but Forest do not intend to sell.”
Murillo joined Forest from Corinthians in 2023 and the 23-year-old emerged as a warrior in Santo’s side last season, becoming a mainstay in defence.
| Apperances | 39 |
| Goals | 2 |
| Assists | 0 |
Santo has kept hold of full-backs Ola Aina and Neco Williams and goalkeeper Matz Sels on new contracts and will only let Murillo go if the fee is deemed record breaking for a defender.
Currently the most expensive defender in the world is Manchester United’s Harry Maguire, who cost the Red Devils £80million from Leicester City in 2019.
Murillo forms basis of Forest’s defensive record
Football Insider Verdict
Murillo formed a solid partnership with fellow centre-back Nikola Milenkovic at the City Ground last season as Forest conceded only 46 goals in 38 Premier League games.
The defence was the basis for a strong campaign for Forest, allowing the likes of Elanga and Morgan Gibbs-White to flourish at the other end of the pitch.
Keeping his defence intact would have been a priority for Santo in the window and so far the manager has been able to fend off any interest.
Murillo would take over £80m to be sold and that signals Forest’s ambition to keep pushing up the Premier League table.
With competition tough for European places, keeping hold of their stars is a must for Forest to be able to replicate last season’s form this campaign.
European football will take a greater burden out of the squad and Murillo will be expected to start the majority of games for Forest, in what could be his toughest season yet.