Nottingham Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis is set to demand north of £53 million for one of Sean Dyche's star players as Barcelona eye up a move, according to a new report.
Nottingham Forest turn corner under Sean Dyche
It's been 42 days since Ange Postecoglou became the shortest reigning manager in Premier League history after a nightmare stint at the City Ground, with Forest since appointing Dyche to steady the ship.
Ange Postecoglou's tenure at Nottingham Forest Competition
Arsenal 3-0 Forest Premier League
Swansea 3-2 Forest Carabao Cup
Burnley 1-1 Forest Premier League
Real Betis 2-2 Forest Europa League
Forest 0-1 Sunderland Premier League
Forest 2-3 FC Midtjylland Europa League
Newcastle 2-0 Forest Premier League
Forest 0-3 Chelsea Premier League
The Englishman arrived at Forest with skepticism surrounding his controversial appointment, but so far, Dyche has seriously impressed.
His debut in the dugout saw Forest secure a 2-0 Europa League victory over FC Porto, their first in Europe, establishing early momentum before Forest defeated fellow strugglers Leeds United 3-1 at the City Ground — ending a nine-match winless domestic streak that went all the way back to the opening weekend under Nuno Espírito Santo.
Nottingham Forest manager Sean Dyche looks on
Ibrahim Sangare's first Forest goal kickstarted the comeback after Lukas Nmecha's early strike, before Morgan Gibbs-White's header and Elliot Anderson's stoppage-time penalty completed the turnaround.
Even more impressive came Forest's stunning 3-0 triumph over Liverpool at Anfield.
Murillo, Nicolo Savona, and Gibbs-White scored as Dyche put on a tactical masterclass against the Merseysiders, who are in catastrophic form right now amid reports that Arne Slot could lose his job.
The Tricky Trees have also shut up shop, conceding just once in their last four games across all competitions, and that is testament to the performances of Murillo, who also put in a Man of the Match display against Liverpool last weekend.
The Brazilian is attracting serious interest from elite clubs, including Arsenal, and we can now add the La Liga champions to his growing list of admirers.
Barcelona identify top target Murillo as Nottingham Forest demand £53 million
According to reports from Spain, Murillo has now 'become Barcelona's top target' to reinforce Hansi Flick's defence.
murillo-forest
Forest are clear, they want north of £53 million for the centre-back and are in a very strong position to demand good money considering he's contracted until 2029.
Good news for Dyche is that Barça are currently unable to meet this price tag due to their constraints around the La Liga salary cap and well-documented financial difficulties.
The prospect of Murillo leaving in January is unlikely at best as well, despite the admiration from top clubs, with journalist Pete O'Rourke telling Football Insider that Forest will block any winter move.
“I would say there’s no chance of a deal happening in January," O'Rourke explained.
“He was handed a new bumper deal last January just to ward off potential interest from other clubs, the likes of Chelsea and others.
“Chelsea, we know, centre-back maybe is an area of the team that is a bit weak. They have missed Levi Colwill this season due to injury and obviously they have had other players like Fofana who had his injury problems.
“So it is probably an area of the team that Enzo Maresca would like to strengthen, but I don’t see Forest letting Murillo go in January.”
The 23-year-old finished last campaign as Forest's best performer by average match rating, according to WhoScored, in what was a fairytale campaign where they nearly qualified for the Champions League under Nuno.
Forest have scope to demand even more money for their prized asset, and we could even see a potential bidding war next summer.