Amid the speculation surrounding Virgil van Dijk and his looming contract expiry date, Liverpool have entered the market for fresh new centre-backs for the upcoming summer transfer window, with Nottingham Forest’s Brazilian defender Murillo chief among those targets. according to Rudy Galetti and TEAM Talk.
Murillo is currently part of the second-best defense in the Premier League, having scored just seven goals in nine games, second only to Liverpool’s five, and one of only three teams to have scored fewer than ten goals so far this season have received. Manchester City was the third team with nine goals conceded. This is elite business for a team in terms of their roster, budget and where they were in the standings last season. They escaped relegation by just 6 points with a goal difference of -18 and conceded 1.8 goals per game.
A stark change from this season, conceding just 0.8 goals per game, with them currently on course to concede just 30 goals this season, compared to 67 goals conceded in the Premier League last year. Nottingham Forest are in a dark position for a possible defeat. European position for next season if this form continues.
Murillo is one of the stars of the monstrous defense that plays as a combination of a centre-back and a full-back, pushing up the wing and defending the outside space. He wins more than 50% of his duels on the ground and more than 60% of his duels. duels in the air. To give you a comparison, Manchester City’s Manuel Akanji wins 60% of his ground duels and only 39% of his aerial duels. Arsenal’s William Saliba is winning just 55% of his aerial duels so far this season.
It remains to be seen what price Nottingham Forest will place on the young Brazilian, but he will certainly be someone to watch in the summer transfer window if Liverpool fail to secure an extension for their captain, Virgil van Dijk.