Liverpool are in the process of getting their backroom staff in order, and that’s not stopped links to potential summer targets, which could include Nottingham Forest‘s Murillo.
Forest were docked four points after breaching the Premier League‘s profitability and sustainability rules earlier this week, a ruling they are expected to appeal.
It drops them back into the relegation zone, and speculation over the future of their players has quickly begun, with fears of further sanctions if they do not offload in the summer.
To this end, the Mail‘s Sami Mokbel has named Liverpool as one of four Premier League teams to be “monitoring” the progress of 21-year-old Murillo.
Arsenal, Chelsea and Newcastle are listed alongside the Reds, while PSG and Barcelona are name-checked as possible suitors from Europe.
The Brazilian centre-back arrived last summer for a fee in the region of £15 million, and Forest will expect to recoup that and more having seen the defender impress in his debut season.
Liverpool do have a need for a left-footed centre-back and Murillo ticks this box, plus he is not afraid to run with the ball and break the lines.
Former Forest manager Steve Cooper said of the young defender: “I felt his passing and composure was exceptional,” he said. “He’s making a lot of tackles and interceptions. He’s a real talent.”
As for another check in the box, he has not missed a game through injury this season, and has started 27 of Forest’s 28 games since arriving.
It’s one of the more sensible player links, and Forest could be in weakened position in the summer by needing to sell a number of their players to balance their books – but there is one obvious weakness to Murillo’s game.
Murillo is only in the ninth percentile for aerial duels won, winning only 26 in the Premier League to date – Virgil van Dijk, in comparison, leads the way with 113.
But with a new manager to arrive in the summer, this facet of the game may not be as significant to them as it has been for Jurgen Klopp.
