Most important deal since Van Dijk: Liverpool make £80m ace concrete target

Another riveting bout of deadline-day action for those of a Liverpool persuasion. Ah well, can’t have it all. If anything, it stands as a measure of Liverpool’s prudence, so careful and assured in the market.

And it’s bore fruit for sure. Arne Slot‘s side are six points clear of Arsenal (with a game in hand) at the Premier League‘s peak and qualified in first place in the revamped Champions League group phase.

Federico Chiesa signed for £12.5m in the summer and remains the only first-team arrival to alight at Anfield since August 2023, when Jurgen Klopp took a chance on Ryan Gravenberch.

Don’t hold your breath until this evening. However, FSG are genuinely gearing up to make things happen come summer, with an exciting name emerging in defence.

Liverpool lining up new defender

According to Caught Offside, Liverpool are gearing up for a marquee signing, albeit one that will arrive after the end of the season, in the form of Nottingham Forest’s Murillo.

Nottingham Forest's Elliot Anderson celebrates scoring their first goal with Nikola Milenkovic and Murillo

One of the key pillars of Nuno Espirito Santo‘s high-flying side, Murillo has been valued at £80m and is also attracting interest from Arsenal, Real Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain. Liverpool’s intrigue is concrete, however.

With Reds skipper Virgil van Dijk out of contract at the end of the season and Joe Gomez nearly leaving for Newcastle United last summer, it’s imperative that Liverpool make their first central defensive permanent signing since 2022.

Why Liverpool want Murillo

Van Dijk is the impenetrable bastion in front of Alisson’s goal. He’s a machine, supreme leader, inimitable performer. The Netherlands star changed everything when joining Klopp’s project for £75m in January 2018, going on to win it all.

But he’s set to leave in a matter of months along with talisman Mohamed Salah and Trent Alexander-Arnold, the homegrown wonder, unless Richard Hughes and Michael Edwards complete a breakthrough in a protracted and ever-more-worrying stalemate.

Enter Murillo. Even if Van Dijk, who wants to stay, does indeed retain his captaincy on Merseyside, he turns 34 this summer and a success plan will be needed.

Let’s have a look at why Murillo’s the talk of the town over in Nottinghamshire. The Brazil defender, aged 22, has been hailed “one of the best signings in Nottingham Forest’s history” by journalist Leonardo Bertozzi, instrumental in preserving top-flight status last year and pushing on to defy odds and fight to leap over the Champion League fencing this year, third in the Premier League and six points clear of Manchester City.

It rather helps that he’s left-footed, for Van Dijk has dominated that side of the defensive line for club and country over so many illustrious years.

Murillo vs Virgil van Dijk in PL (24/25)
Match Stats*	Murillo	Van Dijk
Matches (starts)	23 (23)	23 (23)
Goals	1	1
Assists	0	1
Clean sheets	8	10
Pass completion	79%	92%
Key passes*	0.5	0.3
Dribble (success)*	0.9 (83%)	0.1 (75%)
Ball recoveries*	3.7	3.5
Tackles + interceptions*	2.7	2.8
Clearances*	6.3	4.3
Total duels (won)*	3.7 (59%)	4.6 (71%)
Stats via Sofascore ( = per game)*

He’s good, this Murillo, but he’s no Van Dijk. He could be, though. With time and patience and a place in the Anfield hothouse, the South American titan might just realise his potential and become a superstar under Slot’s wing, starring alongside Ibrahima Konate for many years to come.

Liverpool will not want to lose their linchpin and flatter to deceive over the coming years, and while, indeed, Van Dijk’s immediate future will be in Slot’s squad, signing Murillo could be the most important signing at the club in many years, perhaps even since the Dutchman wandered through the doors all those years ago.

BBC reporter Emily Anderson hailed Murillo as a “defensive warrior” last season, and he was, but his transcendental performances for the Tricky Trees this season have confirmed that he’s worthy of stepping into Van Dijk’s shoes.