Reliable Journalist Confirms Man Utd Have Done ‘Background Checks’ On £50M Rated Defensive Colossus

BACK David Tully Apr 27th 2026 This article contains affiliate links. We may earn a small commission on items purchased through this article, but that does not affect our editorial judgement. Man Utd have made “background checks” on Nottingham Forest defender Murillo, according to The Telegraph‘s James Ducker. The journalist is usually pretty reliable when it comes to the Red Devils, and he says that the club have been keeping close tabs on the Brazilian, as well as another centre-back, Tottenham’s Micky van de Ven. Murillo and van de Ven are both left-footed, and it is believed that if United do choose to strengthen the middle of defence, they will pick a player with a similar profile. Ducker does, however, claim that a move for a centre-half is not top of Jason Wilcox’s agenda, with the midfield set to be prioritised. Murillo could be priced out of a move Other Premier League teams, including Liverpool and Chelsea, have also been credited with an interest in the 23-year-old, and there were suggestions that the player could be available for around £50m this summer if Forest are relegated from the top flight. However, the Tricky Trees took a big leap towards safety with a 5-0 win away against Sunderland on Friday night. Murillo could, therefore, end up costing considerably more, which may put off United and other suitors. Buy a Man Utd home shirt from Fanatics here Man Utd are ‘happy’ with their centre-back options The word coming out from the club currently is that they are willing to head into next season with Leny Yoro, Harry Maguire, Ayden Heaven, Lisandro Martinez and Matthijs de Ligt. Ducker claims the Red Devils are “happy” with these five players, and they are currently not intending to add further depth at the back, despite justified concerns about the fitness of Martinez and de Ligt. Want more news on Man Utd? Add Man U News as a preferred source on Google David Tully David has worked as a football reporter for the last fifteen years. Having started as an intern at Snack Media, he then went on to become a freelancer, working on various different sites. At the start of 2023, he took up his current role as content writer for the Football News Network.