Nottingham Forest prepare another £15m bid for “monster” in Murillo repeat

Nottingham Forest have been tipped to table a massive bid to land a new forward ahead of the upcoming Premier League season.

Forest enjoying South American success

Since their promotion to the Premier League in 2022, Nuno Espírito Santo’s side have had plenty of success by raiding the south American market. Their headline success has been centre-back Murillo, who arrived at the City Ground from Corinthians 12 months ago in a £10m move.

He promptly cemented himself as one of the best defenders outside the top six and drew admiring glances from across Europe on his way to helping Forest avoid relegation on the final day of last season.

Quizzed on his future, the Brazilian defender admitted he may look to leave Forest in the future to play Champions League football, but committed himself to the Garibaldi for at least another season.

“I need regular game-time and really feel that with Forest I’m in the best place for my career,” he said. “Staying here for another season will enable me to mature as a player and eventually become better prepared if the chance ever comes to play at another level one day.”

But the 22-year-old is not the only player plucked from Brazil, with young midfielder Danilo also having been signed from Palmeiras, while Forest have already explored this avenue this summer by bringing Carlos Miguel to the City Ground from Corinthians in a move worth £3.3m. Now, they could be set to return to Corinthians to snap up a highly rated talent for their frontline.

Nottingham Forest readying move for teenager

That comes with Forest ready to table a £20m+ bid for forward Wesley Gassova, who has also been on the radar of West Ham United.

The forward, who doesn’t turn 20 until March next year, is much more experienced than Murillo was when Forest signed him, having made 79 appearances for Corinthians. Largely deployed on the left of attack, he can also play in central areas.

However, he is another player whose career seems primed to take off when he moves to Europe. Football Analyst Ben Mattinson dubbed him a “dribbling monster” who “is going to break ankles all around Europe” when he eventually moves across the Atlantic.

As per Brazilian reporter Bruno Andrade, Al Nassr have seen a deal worth 25m euros (£21.3m) fall through as a result of intermediaries failing to come to an agreement, but Forest are “on track to offer similar” to try and get an agreement over the line.

It is added that “the club’s board of directors still hopes to sell the player in the coming days” amid Forest interest, suggesting that there is confidence a deal could be completed with the Midlands outfit.

Should a move for Wesley prove even half as successful as the deal that brought Murillo to the City Ground, Forest will grab a bargain.