Chelsea are one of four Premier League teams that are “monitoring” Nottingham Forest defender Murillo, according to the Daily Mail.

The Brazilian has impressed since moving to the City Ground from Corinthians for £13m at the start of the season.

However, Forest have been punished for breaking Premier League’s Profit and Sustainability rules and, to prevent similar breaches from occurring in future, they may need to balance the books.

It means that some of their prized assets may have to be offloaded in the summer, with Murillo a prime target due to the interest being shown in him.

Arsenal, Liverpool, Newcastle and teams abroad are also keen on the 21-year-old, in addition to Mauricio Pochettino’s side.

What do Chelsea fans need to know about the player?

Murillo is left-footed, possesses strength and he is comfortable playing the ball out from the back. After a man-of-the-match performance against Crystal Palace back in October, Sky Sports pundit Jamie Redknapp said:

“From his touches today, you can just see the quality that he possesses. He’s going to be a real fan favourite. He possesses a lot of weapons in his armoury – he’s got a lovely left foot which I think gives you a massive advantage.”

“You want a modern-day centre-back to be comfortable on the ball and he is but he also enjoys defending and loves to get himself in the way for a block. They paid £13 million for him this summer, which looks to be an absolute bargain. It’s never easy to come to the Premier League, but he’s just adjusted so easily. He looked very calm on the ball – it may be early days but I’m really impressed with him.”

Could Murillo be a potential replacement for Thiago Silva?

With Silva expected to leave when his contract expires at the end of the season, there is a possibility that the 39-year-old’s successor at Stamford Bridge could be another Brazilian.

However, it should be pointed out that Chelsea do already have two left-footed centre-halves in the first-team squad; Levi Colwill and Benoit Badiashile.

With that being the case, the Blues may still look elsewhere as they consider replacements for Silva. It is believed that the likes of Sporting Lisbon’s Ousmane Diomande, Nice’s Jean-Clair Todibo and Lille’s Leny Yoro are also on the club’s radar.