Murillo given world-record price tag as Nottingham Forest brace for Barcelona interest

Whilst Nottingham Forest are yet to sign any new players in the January window, their most important piece of business was completed by signing Murillo to a new contract.

Murillo signed a new Forest deal on Tuesday, providing a well-deserved award to one of Nuno Espirito Santo’s most impressive performers this season.

Crucially for Forest, no release clause was inserted into Murillo’s contract, offering the Forest manager peace of mind that he can rely on the Brazilian centre-back for the foreseeable future.

Murillo has been the standout in Forest’s incredible defence this season, partnering brilliantly with Nikola Milenkovic to see their side keep nine clean sheets in the Premier League campaign, only matched by league leaders, Liverpool.

Liverpool showed interest in buying Murillo as a long-term replacement for Virgil van Dijk, likely spurred on as football fans lauded Murillo’s display against Liverpool when the sides drew in January.

Whilst Evangelos Marinakis may have hoped that the new contract would at least cool the interest in Murillo for a while, fresh reports have linked Barcelona with the Brazilian, forcing Forest to place a colossal price tag on their star man.

Barcelona take interest in Nottingham Forest’s Murillo

According to Spanish media outlet, Sport, Murillo’s performances at the City Ground have caught the eye of Barcelona, becoming the latest elite European side to look at the Brazilian.

Barcelona’s rivals Real Madrid have scouted Murillo this season ahead of a potential move but that came before the defender signed his new contract, something that clearly hasn’t deterred Barcelona.

The report suggests that the Spanish giants began to look at Murillo last summer, keeping an eye on his development to time their move perfectly.

Another factor for this timing is their hope that Murillo will look to push for a move away from Forest at some point.