Journalist confirms Man Utd plans to sign £70m-rated Nottingham Forest powerhouse – he’s one of SIX defenders on shortlist

Manchester United are planning to revolutionise their defence in 2027 in the same way they did their midfield this summer gone, with a reporter confirming their plans to target one of Nottingham Forest’s best players to beef up Michael Carrick’s rearguard.

The Red Devils went on a mission to strengthen their central midfield options this summer, ultimately landing Andrey Santos, Youri Tielemans and Carlos Baleba for a combined £155m (€183m, $205m).

That methodical, wholesale approach to revolutionising their midfield mirrored the tactic United used the season before with their attack, after Benjamin Sesko, Bryan Mbeumo and Matheus Cunha arrived at Old Trafford.

And now INEOS plans to adopt the same policy again in 2027, but this time with a defensive rebuild in mind.

Having ironically started the season with the same back-four line-up – Diogo Dalot, Harry Maguire, Lisandro Martinez and Luke Shaw – as had featured heavily in the Erik ten Hag era – it is evident that change is required.

And with the club ready to bring in a new specialist left-back to take some of the burden off the ageing Shaw, that will become priority number one at Old Trafford.

To that end, United have been heavily linked with Barcelona’s Alejandro Balde, Crystal Palace’s Tyrick Mitchell and Adrian Truffert of Bournemouth.

Furthermore, sources confirmed to TEAMtalk that, while all three are on their list, a new option they have an immediate option to sign for a cut-price fee is David Raum, with the German star nearing the end of his contract with RB Leipzig.

In addition to the capture of a new left-back, journalist Dean Jones has confirmed that United also want a new central defender, with powerful Nottingham Forest’s man Murillo firmly on their wishlist.

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Man Utd keen to sign Murillo – stats show he’d be a great signing

Per Jones, writing for Tribal Football, United are keen to strengthen their central defence by bringing in the 24-year-old Brazil international.

However, securing his signature will not be easy, with the player having recently signed an extension to keep him at the City Ground through till June 2030 back in May.

Insisting their interest in Murillo is nothing new, Jones claims United have ‘followed him extensively’ and explored the possibility of a deal over the summer, before deciding their focus lay elsewhere.

And while he concedes that Forest are ‘in a strong position’ and ‘under no pressure to sell’, he suggests United are willing to fork out a huge offer for his signature, potentially even needing to pay beyond £70m, though he admits that a January deal looks highly improbable.

‘A huge offer would be required, and January is not a time when United would expect to land him,’ Jones stated, before confirming that United could realistically try to sign the one-cap Brazil international in the summer, before going on to admit that Everton’s Jarrad Branthwaite is also another long-term target.

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Regarding Murillo, a quick glance at his stats shows exactly why United are so keen.

Across the 2025/26 Premier League campaign, the player averaged 1.4 tackles per game, 1.4 interceptions per game and completed 5.2 clearances on average per game.

While also averaging an 83.6% pass completion percentage and an average rating of 6.79 per game, United know they would be landing a player of vast experience and, at the age of 24, still with his prime years ahead of him.