Real Madrid to Rival Liverpool for Signature of Nottingham Forest Defender Murillo

Real Madrid have joined the race to sign Nottingham Forest's highly-rated centre-back Murillo amidst a potential January exit.

Premier League Nottingham Forest v West Ham United Murillo Santiago / IMAGO / News Images

One of the positions Liverpool will almost certainly sign next summer is a left-sided centre-back or a defensive left-back.

Andy Robertson has started to decline and even though Kostas Tsimikas has played well when called upon, it's very clear that Arne Slot wants a defensive fullback, something he regularly used at Feyernoord.

The Reds were linked to Riccardo Calafiori before he joined Arsenal last summer for €45million, showing they have the intention to sign a player in a similar mould.

One player who has caught people's eyes since joining the Premier League is Nottingham Forest's Murillo, who joined the midlands club in 2023 from Brazilian side Corinthians for €13million.

The 22-year-old is now worth €40million according to TransferMarkt, however, it is very likely that the former European Champions would be demanding at least double that valuation.

Liverpool have been heavily linked with the Brazilian in recent weeks, joining the likes of Chelsea and PSG who have also shown interest in Murillo.

Now, according to Spanish outlet Fichajes, Carlo Ancelotti is targetting the Nottingham Forest centre-back after Éder Militão's ACL injury.

The report states that Real Madrid are looking at signing the 22-year-old in January and believes that the young defender could provide the dynamism and defensive solidity that they are lacking after their massive defensive injury crisis.

Finally, the article also confirms that Nottingham Forest are in no rush to sell Murillo as he has a contract at the club until 2028. However, it does mention that the prospect of joining Real Madrid will be something the player and his representatives could 'seriously consider' in the coming months.

As the report mentions, it would be very unlikely that Forest even consider selling him in January, if they did it would come at a massive premium, something that would likely put Madrid off.

All these rumours are very indicative of how highly-rated Murillo is amongst the top European clubs and it looks like a certainty that he will be leaving Nottinghamshire next summer transfer window.