Chelsea remain interested in signing Nottingham Forest centre-back Murillo, according to the Daily Mail‘s Chief Football Reporter Sami Mokbel.

The journalist says that the Blues are “monitoring” the Brazilian’s situation, despite the fact that Forest have slapped a £55m to £60m price tag on the player.

Talks between the two clubs were held about Murillo earlier in the summer but negotiations did not progress far due to there being a sizeable gap in their valuations of the defender.

It is not clear whether anything has changed in that regard during the intervening period but it seems Enzo Maresca’s side have not given up hope on recruiting the 22-year-old.

Do Chelsea need another centre-half?

Even if Trevoh Chalobah is sold before the transfer window closes later this month, there are FIVE other players in the first-team squad who can play in the centre of defence.

Maresca has Tosin Adarabioyo, Axel Disasi, Wesley Fofana, Levi Colwill and Benoit Badiashile at his disposal.

Murillo is left-footed so he would be brought in as a direct competitor for Colwill and Badiashile but having a total of six centre-backs does seem pretty excessive.

What has Murillo said about his future?

The defender did cause a bit of controversy with some of his comments in early July, where it looked like he was angling for a move to City, Arsenal or Liverpool. However, since then, he has committed himself to staying at Forest for at least one more year:

“I need regular game-time and really feel that with Forest I’m in the best place for my career. 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.”

Find out who is in Chelsea’s first-team squad for 2024/2025 season here