Built like a rugby league player but light as a ballet dancer
...and that’s why big clubs will pay £50m for Forest star Murillo
THE best young defender in Europe might be relegated at the end of the season but Murillo is heading for the Champions League not the Championship.
Nottingham Forest’s Brazilian centre back has been a shining light in a hugely difficult season for the club, which is poised on a knife edge.
One point clear of Luton and with fixtures against fellow strugglers Everton, Burnley and Sheffield United to come, at least Forest’s future is in their hands.
They are also appealing against the four-point deduction for breaking spending rules which has plunged them into trouble.
Mail Sport understands that hearing will start next week.
Yet with Murillo in the line-up, Forest will feel a whole lot better. When he gets the better of a rival attacker for the umpteenth time, supporters cry, ‘You’ll never beat Murillo!’ — just as they did for Des Walker, one of their finest defenders of modern times.
Forest need to sell this summer to ensure they escape further punishment next season. Murillo is worth at least £50million and has Liverpool, Arsenal, Chelsea and Newcastle watching him closely, as well as Paris Saint-Germain, Barcelona and Real Madrid.
Murillo is built like a rugby league player but is as light on his feet as a ballet dancer. He can overcome an attacker with speed, strength or skill. His clearance to deny Joao Gomes in the first half — a diving header close to his own line to prevent a goal — was one of the moments of Forest’s season. It all makes the £15m Forest paid Corinthians last August, after Murillo had made only 13 professional starts, one of the club’s best deals in an era of chaotic transfer spending.
Even before he had made a first-team appearance for Forest, former boss Steve Cooper could see he was special in the early training sessions. And though there is still a rawness to his game, Murillo’s career is going in only one direction. There are similarities with his fellow Brazilian, Real Madrid centre back Eder Militao, and it would be no surprise to see them team-mates in the Spanish capital one day.
For now, Murillo must help Forest stay up and this was a huge missed opportunity for Nuno Espirito Santo’s team. After falling behind to a spectacular strike from Matheus Cunha, one of four Brazilians in the starting line-ups, Morgan Gibbs-White and Danilo scored either side of half-time to put Forest in front.
But then Cunha levelled after poor defending at a corner — the 22nd goal Forest have conceded from a set-piece this term.