“He’s a little bit mad” – £70m tank who Liverpool had been ‘after’ could be just what Reds need | OneFootball

Liverpool had to settle for a draw against Nottingham Forest despite dominating the shot count, although a point away to the team currently second in the Premier League is no disgrace.

That Arne Slot’s side were denied victory at the City Ground owed plenty to a resolute display from their hosts, in particular two outstanding performers at the back.

Matz Sels assumed the mantle of ‘Belgian goalkeeper producing miracles against LFC’ from Thibaut Courtois with no fewer than five saves, while Murillo produced a whopping 17 clearances to keep the visitors at bay for the most part (Sofascore).

The Brazilian defender had actually been linked with Liverpool towards the end of 2024, with Gary Lineker saying on The Rest is Football podcast in November that the Reds have been ‘after’ the 22-year-old as a prospective signing.

Just how good is Murillo?

The clamour for him to be brought to Anfield will no doubt have risen after a monstrous performance last night, one which earned a vivid and glowing review from Sky Sports reporter Dougie Critchley.

At the full-time whistle, he posted on X: “Huge, huge credit to whoever scouted Murillo. 27 games he’d played, in his ENTIRE career when he was signed as a 21 year old from Corinthians.

“He’s a completely unique defender… he reminds me of Rudiger, he’s a little bit mad, you can’t take your eyes off him. Excellent anticipation, can carry the ball, shoot from distance… but the jostling, timing, body manipulation that every top defender needs… he’s got it. Very excited to see what he could achieve!”

(Photo by Michael Regan/Getty Images)

Murillo could be exactly what Liverpool need in January transfer window

When Lineker first made that claim about Liverpool being ‘after’ Murillo a couple of months ago, we at Empire of the Kop weren’t fully convinced that he was a player the Reds needed – a standpoint underlined by subsequent reports that Forest had set a £70m asking price for him.

However, last night’s performance capped a hitherto tremendous season in which he’s been virtually ever-present in the Premier League’s joint-second most miserly defence (just 20 goals conceded).

In addition to the 17 clearances that we mentioned already, he made four tackles and won five of his six duels (Sofascore), nullifying our attack so expertly that Luis Diaz managed only one shot all night before he was called ashore by Slot.

Nor was this a freakish outlier of a display from Murillo, either. As per FBref, he ranks among the top 1% of centre-backs in Europe’s five main leagues over the past year for clearances per game (6.5), along with the top 6% for blocks per 90 minutes (1.89) and the top 5% for successful take-ons per match (0.54).

After the game last night, Jamie Carragher urged Liverpool to ‘buy a defender’ – a plea with which many Reds fans will likely agree – and Forest’s number 5 could be exactly what we need.

He’s already proven that he can excel in the Premier League, and at only 22 he should only get even better over the next few years. He’s also hugely dependable in terms of avoiding injury, something which unfortunately can’t be said of Joe Gomez or Ibrahima Konate, as good as they are on the pitch.

Just imagine a centre-back pairing of Murillo and Virgil van Dijk at Anfield! If the former had even a couple of years playing alongside our captain and learning from him, it’s frightening to think of how formidable he could become once he reaches his prime footballing years.