UNSTOPPABLE DEFENDER: WHY MURILLO IS THE PERFECT CHELSEA CENTER-BACK
Chelsea is targeting Nottingham Forest defender Murillo (£80m) as the necessary upgrade to Tosin Adarabioyo, whose form and style don't suit Maresca's system.
Enzo Maresca's first season at Stamford Bridge, where he won multiple titles, showed he could lead Chelsea for years. There's a lot to like about the team this year.
That said, they probably won't win the league just yet. Moises Caicedo's absence was felt again when he was suspended for the last game.
Arsenal is nine points ahead, and Chelsea needs to get better in several areas. Central defence is definitely one of them, as Tosin Adarabioyo's mistakes at Leeds proved.
Tosin has been criticised since his late blunder against Leeds. Noah Okafor stole the ball from him, leading to Dominic Calvert-Lewin's late goal that gave Chelsea a 3-1 loss.
He could also be better at building plays. Tosin, 28, likes to have the ball, but he's not as good at moving it forward as some other players in his position, which doesn't fit with the style of play Maresca wants.
It's clear he needs to be taken out of the starting lineup, but Chelsea doesn't have many options at centre back. Levi Colwill is still injured, and Wesley Fofana is frequently absent.
It's not shocking that Paul Winstanley and Laurence Stewart are planning a big transfer in 2026.
Chelsea Wants Tosin to Upgrade
According to Football Insider, Chelsea might have to pay £80 million for Murillo from Nottingham Forest next year. Barcelona is also interested in the Brazilian centre-back.
Murillo, 23, is in his third year in the Premier League and is doing well. He's been key in making Forest contenders for Europe. His strength and aggressiveness are what Chelsea needs.
Regardless, he would be better than Tosin.
Why Murillo Would Be a Tosin Upgrade
Murillo keeps improving. Some experts on Brazilian football say he's one of the best defenders in the Premier League.
He's not very tall, standing under 6 feet. But Murillo is still a force to be reckoned with, a huge presence on defence.
Even with the changes at Forest this season, he's been a steady presence in the backline, though he's less creative now that Sean Dyche is in charge.
Stats can be misleading, but even though Murillo isn't creating chances directly, he's still one of the league's most well-rounded centre-backs. He's in the top 5% of Premier League players for interceptions and blocks, the top 8% for shot-creating actions, the top 12% for progressive passes, and the top 5% for successful take-ons per 90 minutes, according to FBref data.
Shot-creating actions are plays that lead to a shot, like a pass, a take-on, or a foul drawn.
Tosin doesn't offer this kind of offensive contribution to the same degree. Plus, at 23, Murillo has much more room to improve than the 28-year-old Tosin.
Murillo is a scorer, protector, enforcer, and leader all in one. There's no doubt he would fit into Maresca's starting lineup at Chelsea, likely replacing Tosin.
Tosin has been a good addition since joining Chelsea for free, but now it's time for the team to be ruthless, as they have been many times before.
By putting success first, they will improve Maresca's project.
DID LIAM ROSENIOR’S PAST AS A PUNDIT INFLUENCE HIS DEFENSIVE STRATEGY AT ARSENAL?
Chelsea boss Liam Rosenior hits back at critics after a defensive approach saw the Blues exit the Carabao Cup semi-final.
Liam Rosenior stood by his cautious approach after Chelsea couldn’t overturn their first-leg deficit against Arsenal in the Carabao Cup semi-final.
Down 3-2 from the first match, Chelsea never really put Arsenal under pressure at the Emirates. In the end, Kai Havertz—of all people—put the game to bed in stoppage time, scoring against his old club.
Rosenior switched things up, going with a back three and playing it safe. He wanted to keep the game close and try to push hard late on. He brought on Cole Palmer and Estevao around the 60th minute, hoping for a spark, but Chelsea still couldn’t carve out real chances. Arsenal just wouldn’t budge.
Pundits didn’t love Rosenior’s tactics and let him know it. He brushed it off. “I’ve been a pundit. It’s easy. It’s easy in hindsight,” he said. “If I go all-out and press high, we could give away two early goals, and then everyone asks what I’m thinking. That’s just how it is. Lose, and you’re hammered. Win, and you’re a genius. Usually, it’s somewhere in the middle.”
Chelsea were up against the league leaders, and with both Reece James and Pedro Neto missing due to minor injuries, Rosenior planned to hang in there and try to frustrate Arsenal—and maybe turn the mood in the stadium.
“That was the idea. You saw it,” he said. “I thought the psychological side of the tie mattered, and you could feel it in the stadium too. At 60 minutes, I brought on Cole and Estevao, and suddenly we had some moments around the box. I think people sensed this game could flip.”
It didn’t happen, though. Rosenior said he couldn’t fault his players for their effort, and in the end, Arsenal’s clinching goal came while Chelsea were throwing everything forward, desperate to turn things around.
IS JOãO PEDRO ACTUALLY BETTER THAN LIVERPOOL’S £79M HUGO EKITIKé? THE STATS REVEAL ALL
Liam Rosenior makes history as Chelsea win three in a row! Discover why João Pedro is the Premier League's best summer signing.
Since Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital took over Chelsea in 2022, they've been anything but quiet in the transfer market. In just three and a half years, they've signed 54 new senior players and spent well over £1 billion.
Some of these signings haven’t even made it onto the pitch for the first team—guys like Gaga Słonina, Ângelo Gabriel, Omari Kellyman, and Caleb Wiley, just to name a few. But others have really made their mark. Think Marc Cucurella, Moisés Caicedo, Enzo Fernández and, of course, Cole Palmer. Now, the question is, has one of Chelsea’s latest summer signings done enough to join that group? Is he about to become one of the Premier League’s signings of the season?
Let’s talk about Chelsea’s summer addition and what he’s bringing to the table. It’s been a great week for Liam Rosenior’s squad. On Saturday night, they were 2-0 down at halftime to West Ham at Stamford Bridge. Somehow, they turned it around and won 3-2, with Enzo Fernández scoring in stoppage time to seal it.
That win made it three league victories in a row for Rosenior. He’s now only the fourth English manager to start his Premier League career with three straight wins—joining Bobby Gould, Sam Allardyce, and Craig Shakespeare. Not bad company at all.
Just three days earlier, Chelsea booked their spot in the Champions League round of 16 after a wild 3-2 win away at Napoli. Down 2-1, João Pedro scored twice in the second half to turn the game around. The Brazilian’s goal at the weekend kicked off Chelsea’s comeback, bringing his total to 15 goals for the club—including three at the Club World Cup. So, how does he stack up against other strikers who switched clubs last summer?
Looking at the numbers, here’s how the new strikers have done since moving in the summer of 2025:
Hugo Ekitiké (Liverpool, £79m): 15 goals (10 PL, 2 UCL)
João Pedro (Chelsea, £60m): 12 goals (9 PL, 3 UCL)
Viktor Gyökeres (Arsenal, £54.8m): 11 goals (6 PL, 4 UCL)
Nick Woltemade (Man United, £69m): 9 goals (7 PL, 1 UCL)
Benjamin Šeško (Man City, £66.3m): 6 goals (5 PL)
Alexander Isak (Newcastle, £125m): 3 goals (2 PL)
Liam Delap (Spurs, £30m): 2 goals (1 PL, 1 UCL)
Only Ekitiké has scored more than João Pedro across all competitions, but Liverpool paid about £20m more for him than Chelsea paid for Pedro. In the whole Premier League, only Erling Haaland, Igor Thiago, Antoine Semenyo, and Ekitiké have more league goals than Pedro’s nine.
But stats aside, Chelsea just look more dangerous with Pedro leading the attack. Their last league defeat? He started that one on the bench at Craven Cottage. Since Rosenior took over, Pedro has started and scored in every match.
Chelsea have brought in plenty of players from Brighton during the BlueCo era, but with the way things are going, João Pedro might end up being the best of the bunch.