Exclusive: Liverpool want to sign Premier League star whether key Reds man stays or goes | OneFootball

Liverpool want to sign a new centre-back whether Virgil van Dijk stays or leaves the club, with Nottingham Forest defender Murillo among their top targets, CaughtOffside understands.

The Reds are having a superb season under Arne Slot, who has done a remarkable job since replacing Jurgen Klopp in the summer, so there doesn’t seem an urgent hurry to strengthen this squad.

Still, in the background there is a worry over the future of star players Virgil van Dijk, Mohamed Salah and Trent Alexander-Arnold, all of whom are just a few months away from becoming free agents.

Murillo could be an ideal long-term replacement for Van Dijk, but sources have indicated to CaughtOffside that LFC could move for Forest’s Brazilian defender whether Van Dijk stays or goes.

Murillo scores for Nottingham Forest against Newcastle (Photo by Alex Livesey/Getty Images)

Murillo transfer seems a no-brainer for Liverpool

Murillo has really impressed during his time at Forest, with the 22-year-old also thought to be on Chelsea’s radar, while other top clubs will also surely get involved soon if he carries on performing like this.

Liverpool would do well to move for him quickly in order to ensure they don’t miss out, and there’s surely a role for him in Slot’s squad, whether that’s as a direct replacement for Van Dijk, or as someone to partner him for a while before replacing him in the starting XI later.

Forest won’t want to lose such an important player, but Liverpool would be hard for Murillo to turn down, so one imagines this is a deal that Forest could be under pressure to agree to, as long as the terms are also favourable for them.

CaughtOffside understands that Sporting Lisbon centre-back Goncalo Inacio is another name that is under consideration by the Merseyside giants, while RB Leipzig’s talented young French defender Castello Lukeba has also been linked with the club in recent times.