Bayern in the hunt for £43.5m star, face competition from Chelsea | OneFootball

Bayern Munich are ‘interested’ in signing Nottingham Forest centre-back Murillo.

The German giants could face competition from Premier League rivals Chelsea in the race to sign the Brazilian defender.

The Blues have a wealth of options in the defensive set-up, but they could be looking to sign a new defender, with Enzo Maresca likely to sell Axel Disasi.

Bayern Munich battle Chelsea for Murillo?

(Photo by Clive Mason/Getty Images)

The Brazilian joined Forest in the summer of 2023 and has soon established himself as a key player for the Premier League side.

He has made 80 appearances for Forest in all competitions, and has made four starts in the 2025-26 campaign already.

Murillo signed a contract extension at Forest that will keep him at the club until 2029.

His impressive performances have caught Bayern’s attention, and he is on their transfer wish list. However, the German giants need to pay around £43.5m to lure him away from the City Ground and it could become a big problem.

That being said, Bayern need to sign a new defender next summer.

Dayot Upamecano is in his final year at the German club, and he is nowhere near signing a new contract at the Allianz Arena.

So, if he fails to sign a new contract, Bayern would need to replace him, and Murillo could be an option. Even if he stays, the club could consider Murillo as an option to replace Kim Min-jae.

Christian Falk has told CFBayern that Murillo could fit into the Bayern system, and meeting his wage package would not be an issue. However, they could face competition from Chelsea.

He said: “It is TRUE: Bayern Munich have added Murillo to their shortlist. This is because they don’t know what’s going to happen with their own defensive talent in the near future.

“Murillo is on this list. He’s been doing very, very well in the Premier League. Forest, of course, gave him a new contract in January in part because Real Madrid were looking at him.

“Bayern can imagine bringing the 23-year-old centre-back into the squad.

“However, his transfer fee won’t be an easy one for FC Bayern. We suspect it’ll be over €50m [£43.5m] that they would have to pay, but one advantage is that he doesn’t have a particularly high salary at the moment, so he would fit well into the Bayern squad.

“Bayern, however, are not alone; I heard that Chelsea are also interested. Nonetheless, he could be a good option for Bayern Munich.”

Who else could Bayern target?

In recent weeks, Bayern have been heavily linked with a move for Crystal Palace defender Marc Guehi, and he is likely to be their top priority target next summer.

Guehi has a contract at Selhurst Park until the end of the season, and he will not sign an extension. Bayern have a great chance to sign him for free in 2026, but they face competition from Liverpool, who were close to signing him in the summer window.

Bayern are also interested in Borussia Dortmund defender Nico Schlotterbeck, and have kept him on their transfer wish list.