Summary Wolverhampton Wanderers are interested in signing Brazilian defender Murillo from Corinthians and have opened talks, but a bid of at least €20m will be required. Murillo could provide much-needed depth and be an upgrade on Toti Gomes, who struggled to meet expectations last season. Murillo's defensive stats for Corinthians this season suggest he could be a valuable addition, ranking highly in interceptions, tackles, clearances, blocks, and successful take-ons.
Wolverhampton Wanderers haven’t exactly had the best preparation before starting their 2023/24 Premier League campaign.
The Old Gold have made just two signings this summer, with Matt Doherty and Tom King arriving at Molineux while Julen Lopetegui has left the club after just nine months in charge amid a summer of unrest.
Gary O’Neil is the new man in charge, and he is already looking at making his first signing as Wolves have shown interest in Murillo.
Could Wolves sign Murillo?
According to Goal Brasil (via Sport Witness), Wolves have ‘opened talks’ to sign the Brazilian defender from Corinthians this summer.
The Old Gold are willing to spend around €12m (£10m) in order to make a move happen, yet this won’t be enough, especially considering Fiorentina had a bid of a similar amount rejected recently.
Nottingham Forest are also showing interest in Murillio and O’Neil could face some Premier League competition for the youngster.
Corinthians are demanding a bid of at least €20m (£17m) for any team to lure the player out of Brazil and this shouldn’t present much of a problem for Wolves, who have yet to spend any of the £47m they received from the sale of Ruben Neves.
Who is Murillo?
O’Neil’s first port of call will be to improve his defensive options. Not only did Conor Coady leave the club, joining Leicester City in the Championship, but Nathan Collins also departed, securing a move to Brentford and the former Bournemouth manager is lacking any real depth at the back.
Murillo could add some much-needed depth to the first team squad, while also being a big upgrade on Toti Gomes.
The Portuguese centre-back couldn’t quite grab a regular slot at the heart of the defence last term, yet when he did, the 24-year-old failed to live up to his potential.
The defender ranked 14th across the squad for tackles per game (0.9) while also ranking ninth for interceptions (0.6) and fourth for clearances (2.6) per game and keeping just four clean sheets in his 17 Premier League appearances.
For Corinthians this season, Murillo has already averaged 1.3 interceptions, 1.1 tackles and 4.8 clearances per game across just 12 matches and these figures rank him 12th, fourth and second in the squad receptively, clearly suggesting he could be an improvement on Toti.
The 21-year-old brute even ranks in the top 1% when compared to positional peers for blocks per 90 (2.13) and the top 8% for clearances per 90 (5.52) and the youngster has even displayed his attacking qualities, ranking in the top 3% for successful take-ons per 90 (0.75).
In contrast, Toti only ranked in the top 20% for blocks per 90 (1.46) when compared to positional peers across Europe’s big five leagues while ranking out with the top 35% for successful take-ons per 90 (0.82) and although he did finish in the top 1% for clearances per 90 (4.66), it’s evident that the Brazilian could be a better option at the back for O’Neil.
There is no doubt Wolves need to bolster their squad before the end of the transfer window and luring Murillo to the Midlands could give O’Neil his dream first signing, and he may just be the catalyst for a few more to arrive in the coming weeks.