Gary Lineker claims Liverpool want to sign £70m defender from Premier League rivals

Liverpool sit top of the Premier League and the Champions League group stage table after an excellent start to the season. The Reds have won a club-record 15 out of their opening 17 games in all competitions under new head coach Arne Slot.

And what makes their start all the more impressive is the fact that they only made one signing in the summer transfer window.

And for all of Federico Chiesa's undoubted pedigree, the £12m arrival from Juventus hasn't been able to make much of an impact as of yet due to fitness concerns.

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Slot has instead placed his faith in the squad he inherited from the legendary Jurgen Klopp. In fact there is an argument to suggest that the Dutchman is getting more out of players like Ryan Gravenberch, Ibrahima Konate and Luis Diaz, who scored his first hat-trick for the club in the midweek Champions League mauling of Bayer Leverkusen.

But with the futures of key trio Mohamed Salah, Virgil van Dijk and Trent Alexander-Arnold up in the air, it is likely Liverpool will be busier in future transfer windows.

And Match of the Day host Gary Lineker has claimed they are already working on one deal.

The Reds look well stocked at centre-half with Konate and Van Dijk in imperious form and Joe Gomez and Jarell Quansah waiting patiently in the wings. However, both Gomez and Quansah were wanted by Newcastle United in the summer when the Reds were negotiating a deal for former Everton winger Anthony Gordon, which collapsed.

But Alan Shearer is worried what will happen if captain Van Dijk or Konate get injured. And it was during a conversation on the latest The Rest is Football podcast that Lineker dropped in the revelation that he has heard Liverpool are after Murillo of Nottingham Forest.

The 22-year-old Brazilian centre-back has been a revelation at the City Ground since his move from Corinthians in August 2023 and has been a big reason why Forest currently sit third in the table, six points behind the table-topping Reds, who much to Slot's annoyance they beat Anfield in September.

That remains Liverpool's sole loss of the season so far heading into tonight's home clash with Aston Villa (8pm).

Shearer said: "The one tiny worry would be if one of the centre-halves were to get injured."

Lineker then jumped in by saying: "I understand they're after Murillo from Forest."

Shearer replied: "Those two at Forest [Murillo and Nikola Milenkovic] have done really well this season, that's one of the reasons they're flying high in the Premier League."

Forest are said to rate Murillo in the £70m bracket. Chelsea are also said to have an interest.