Manchester United consider summer move for top Harry Maguire replacement

Manchester United are considering a summer move for Nottingham Forest defender Murillo. The 23-year-old has established himself as one of the Premier League’s elite defenders since joining Forest in 2023.

The player is reportedly ready to move away from Forest despite signing a 4-and-a-half year contract extension in January of 2025. His desire is to move to a club playing Champions League.

While United will have work to do to climb into the Champions League spots, The Daily Mail has reported that the club has identified Murillo as one of their top targets to replace Harry Maguire. Maguire’s contract is due to expire at the end of the season and so far no progress has been made on renewal talks.

Murillo is seen as the ideal Premier League defender for his stature and robustness. He anchored the Forest side that last season qualified for European football for the first time this century, and established himself as one of the world’s elite young centre-backs.

Murillo became a full Brazil international in March of 2025 when he started in Brazil’s 4-1 loss to Argentina in World Cup qualifying. He was previously called up for the squad for matches against Venezuela and Uruguay in November of 2024 but was an unused substitute for both matches.

The Forest skipper has also caught the attention of Chelsea, Liverpool, Barcelona, and Real Madrid. The defender has a reported value of £60m, a 6x profit on what Forest paid to sign him from Corinthians.

United are believed to be in the market for reinforcements in defence as well as midfield, after already investing heavily in attack over the summer. The Red Devils spent over £200 million to sign Benjamin Sesko, Bryan Mbeumo, and Matheus Cunha in a new like front line.

United now hope to address other areas of the squad in the next two windows. Defence in particular is an area in need of fresh signings amid doubts surrounding the futures of Harry Maguire, Lisandro Martinez, and Luke Shaw.

Nadji is a football writer with over 10 years of experience covering the Premier League. His work has been featured on Football Fancast, Arsenal-Mania, and Arsenal.com, where he has built a reputation for delivering sharp analysis, engaging storytelling, and in-depth coverage of the game.