Liverpool have been informed of an eye-watering asking price for one Premier League player on whom they’re reportedly keen.
Earlier this month, Gary Lineker claimed that the Reds have been ‘after’ Nottingham Forest defender Murillo, who’d also been linked with the Merseysiders during the summer transfer window.
It appears that the interest from Anfield hasn’t gone away, but the rumoured stance from the City Ground might frighten off some prospective suitors.
Liverpool quoted massive asking price for Murillo
According to Football Insider, Forest are set to demand a minimum of £70m if they’re to sell the 22-year-old, in whom it’s not just Liverpool who are interested but also Real Madrid and Barcelona.
The Midlands club won’t entertain any January bids for Murillo, although they apparently view his departure in the foreseeable future as ‘inevitable’ off the back of his eye-catching performances under Nuno Espirito Santo.
The Brazilian defender is understood to be flattered by the interest from the aforementioned trio, with the prospect of playing in the Champions League seemingly a big attraction for him, and it’s stated that he’s ‘likely to have a decision to make’ on his future at the end of this season.
Too much to pay for someone Liverpool don’t need
Like Forest in general, Murillo has enjoyed a tremendous campaign so far, with the ever-present centre-back helping his team to a surprisingly high placing of fifth going into the international break.
However, £70m is a forbidding asking price for a player who, despite having some standout traits, still hasn’t done enough over the past year to justify such a vast outlay from prospective suitors such as Liverpool.
As per FBref, he ranks among the top 2% and 4% of centre-backs in Europe’s five main leagues in that timeframe for clearances and successful take-ons per 90 minutes respectively, but for many other key performance metrics he doesn’t even crack the top 30%.
Also, with Virgil van Dijk and Ibrahima Konate forging a miserly central defensive pairing at Anfield, the Reds simply don’t need to spend such a huge sum on a player like Murillo.
That might change if the current Liverpool captain doesn’t sign a new contract before his current deal expires next June, but for now we don’t expect the Premier League leaders to hand over £70m for someone who – at present – couldn’t be guaranteed a place in Arne Slot’s strongest XI.
