Nottingham Forest 'record' Murillo transfer decision emerges amid Evangelos Marinakis stance
Nottingham Forest snuffed out an attempt by Chelsea to prise away star defender Murillo during the January transfer window, it has been reported.
According to The Telegraph, the Blues were ready to splash out a significant sum on the Brazilian early last month. However, it is said Reds owner Evangelos Marinakis “refused to consider” selling the centre-back for what would have been a “record” fee.
Murillo has attracted plenty of admirers thanks to his brilliant form in the Garibaldi since making the move to the City Ground from Corinthians in August 2023. Chelsea are among those to have had their eye on him for some time.
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It is said Forest clocked their rivals’ interest in the 22-year-old when the winter window opened. But after an initial inquiry, any hope the London club had of securing a deal was “swiftly shut down”.
Marinakis was said to be determined to “fight off any other approaches” for the player. Murillo went on to put pen to paper on a new contract to keep him Trentside until 2029.
Reds head coach Nuno Espirito Santo insisted throughout the window that the club’s priority needed to be to retain their key players. The Portuguese will be delighted that deadline day passed with the core of his squad still intact.
Andrew Omobamidele and James Ward-Prowse were the only senior departures during the window. The former joined Strasbourg on loan until the end of the season and the latter returned to parent club West Ham United as his spell with Nuno’s side was cut short.
Lewis O’Brien and Emmanuel Dennis left to join Swansea City and Blackburn Rovers on loan respectively. However, neither had been part of the set-up under Nuno.
Forest’s current record sale is the £47.5 million they banked from Tottenham Hotspur for Brennan Johnson in the summer of 2023. Speculation about Murillo has not gone away despite his recent new deal, with Liverpool among those said to still be keeping tabs on him.
