I was set to be Liverpool’s Van Dijk replacement - now Chelsea could sign me insteadplaceholder image
I was set to be Liverpool’s Van Dijk replacement - now Chelsea could sign me instead | Getty Images
A player Liverpool supposedly view as a potential Van Dijk replacement is now rumoured to be a Chelsea transfer target as well - so what will happen?
Sooner or later, time will catch up with Virgil van Dijk. Based on his performances this season, often a little less dominant than they have been in the past, that may be happening right now. Succession planning may become an urgent priority. Unfortunately, Liverpool may be at risk of missing out on the potential replacement they seem to have been tracking for the longest.
Rumours linking Liverpool with a bid for Nottingham Forest’s Murillo have existed for over a year but seemed to grow stronger last January, only for the Brazilian centre-back to sign a contract extension at the City Ground instead of pushing for a move.
Now, with Forest struggling – their unexpected 3-0 win at Anfield, in which Murillo scored, notwithstanding – there is a broadening expectation that he will move on next summer. But with new reports linking Chelsea with a bid, have Liverpool missed their chance? And would he be the right replacement for Van Dijk anyway?
Is Murillo the defender Liverpool need to replace Virgil van Dijk?
Now 34, Van Dijk remains a formidable presence in Liverpool’s back line, but there certainly seem to be more ways to get past him than was once the case – and it’s hard to argue that it isn’t a good time for Liverpool to find a centre-back who can take up his mantle once he really does start to slow down, especially given that Arne Slot’s defensive depth is limited anyway. This a team which already needs to sign a new defender.
Giovanni Leoni may have been part of the succession planning, but the 18-year-old is raw, less powerful in the air and needs time to develop a positional game which can really rival Van Dijk’s. Between his age and the ACL injury which has ruled him out for all or most of the season, it’s unlikely that he will be up to full speed by the time Van Dijk needs to step aside.
Murillo, only 23 and improving constantly since he signed for Forest in 2023, seems ready to step into a competitive defence immediately and could be a lynchpin of a Premier League side for years to come. But he is, in many ways, a different type of defender than Van Dijk.
While both are excellent defending one-on-one and have superb positional sense, they have differing strengths and weaknesses – not least in the way they use possession once it’s been won.
Both are comfortable on the ball and capable of progressing play downfield effectively, but their methods of doing so are different – where Van Dijk is a superb passer of the ball, Murillo is a fine dribbler, comfortable taking players on and navigating the high press. Not every manager would be entirely happy with a centre-half whose playing style was quite so high risk, although Murillo has yet to be tackled when running with the ball this season.
Murillo is also far less effective in the air – unsurprising, perhaps, given the five inch height difference – and really needs to be paired with a taller defender to avoid crosses become a weak point. That’s one area in which Murillo would represent an undeniable downgrade from the Dutchman.
But the Forest man is still a superb defender with the right blend of technique, physicality and innate ability to read the game and shut options down to be a serious consideration when Liverpool look to move on. The question is whether they will even get the choice.
Could Chelsea really sneak in and sign Murillo ahead of Liverpool?
Liverpool’s interest in Murillo has been attested to for over a year, with numerous sources (such as The Liverpool Echo) reporting on the club’s supposed desire to bring the Brazilian to Anfield – but as a combination of recent results and proximity to a transfer window throw his future into focus once more, it looks as though other teams may have stolen a march.
A few different outlets – including Caught Offside – now allege that Chelsea are tracking Murillo closely, have been doing so since last summer and view him as a priority target for the near future, while it’s also claimed that Arsenal could be in the mix. At best, Liverpool seem to have competition.
It doesn’t help that Murillo said during a podcast interview that he has a distinct preference for Manchester City or Arsenal should he be given the chance to move to a bigger club, although he did at least add that he “wouldn’t discard Liverpool,” which puts them closer to his thoughts than Chelsea apparently are given that they didn’t even get a mention.
Not that all of the stories, as widespread as they are, amount to much. None of the British media’s more reputable sources have corroborated the old stories linking Murillo with Liverpool – or more recent ones involving Chelsea for that matter – and his name has been thrown about with abandon for over a year. In short, it’s perfectly possible that the gossip columnists are all well off base, although it’s likely that there is at least some interest in Murillo among Europe’s elite side. We just don’t have a clear, reliable picture of who might actually be in the bidding as yet.
Liverpool being among Murillo’s suitors makes plenty of sense given his profile as a ball-playing defender, his age, and their need to improve at the back with Van Dijk starting to slow down and Ibrahima Konaté potentially leaving on a free transfer – but they may well have other targets and there direct evidence for their interest remains thin for all the transfer stories. The same is true with Chelsea, Arsenal and others, too.
Murillo will likely leave the City Ground in the relatively near future and Liverpool are as likely a destination as any, but for now the stories circulating appear to be getting ahead of themselves. Liverpool could have a clear path to his signature or be entirely disinterested – we’ll likely not know more until next summer. But if they are indeed in the market, Murillo would be an intriguing addition who offered plenty, but who needs his weaknesses and playing style to be complemented by those around him to reach his full potential.
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