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.
ALEJANDRO GARNACHO ADMITS "DOING WRONG THINGS" DURING FINAL MONTHS AT MANCHESTER UNITED
Alejandro Garnacho breaks silence on his Man Utd downfall. Read why he admits "doing the wrong things" before his Chelsea move.
Alejandro Garnacho has opened up about why things ended the way they did at Manchester United, admitting he played a part in how it all fell apart at Old Trafford.
At 21, Garnacho was once one of United's top young talents. He joined the club as a teenager back in 2020, but things turned bad pretty quickly after that early promise. Once he had a fallout with Ruben Amorim, he found himself pushed aside, and it was obvious he wasn’t going to stay in Manchester much longer.
That long, drawn-out £40 million move to Chelsea finally went through last summer. At the time, speaking in December, Garnacho said he didn’t regret how it ended at United. “Sometimes in life, you have to change things to move forward or get better as a player. This was the right club and [moving] was an easy decision,” he said.
But a few months later, talking with Premier League Productions, you could tell his feelings had shifted. He looked back at his last stretch at United and said, “I remember in the last six months, I just wasn’t playing like before. I started ending up on the bench. Not the worst thing, I was only 20, after all, but in my mind, I felt like I should be playing every game.”
Then he admitted, “Honestly, maybe some of it was on me. I started doing the wrong things. But that’s how life goes; you have to make decisions. I’m proud to still be in the Premier League and playing for a club like this.”
When someone asked if leaving United hurt, Garnacho got a little nostalgic. “Yeah, probably. I loved that club, you know? They believed in me from the start. They brought me from Spain to the academy and then to the first team. It was four or five years of love for the fans, the stadium, everything was really good."
"But sometimes, you have to make changes for your own good or the next step in your life. I only have good memories of Man Utd.”
JOE COLE SLAMS "DISGRACEFUL" ENZO FERNANDEZ COMMENTS; DEMANDS FIRM CHELSEA RESPONSE
Enzo Fernandez is suspended! Joe Cole warns Chelsea to take a firm stance against the star's Real Madrid transfer talk.
Chelsea have been told it’s time to lay down the law after Enzo Fernandez’s recent remarks about a possible future in Spain set off a wave of controversy. Joe Cole, one of their former wingers, says the club needs to make a clear call, especially with all the rumours linking Fernandez to Real Madrid.
Cole isn’t thrilled about this Fernandez situation popping up again. Once Fernandez started talking openly about how much he likes life in Madrid, the Real Madrid speculation heated up fast. Chelsea responded by suspending him for two games, including the big clash this weekend with Manchester City. Cole, looking at how the saga’s played out, warns that this is turning into a real problem.
Talking to Paddy Power, Cole pointed out the danger here: with the Fernandez drama happening more than once now, the club’s authority is starting to look shaky. In his words, Chelsea has reached a point where they can’t dodge the issue anymore; they need to be clear and decisive about what’s acceptable from their players.
"It’s tough," Cole said. “This isn’t even just about punishment, I mean, this is the second time Enzo’s done something like this. The club has to take a firm stance. Honestly, for players like Enzo, this isn’t what they signed up for when they joined Chelsea. Sure, I get why he’s frustrated, but coming out and talking about leaving just isn’t on. Now the club has to decide if the ban fits the crime. Eventually, if Enzo wants out, he needs to actually ask for a transfer, not just talk.”
He also thinks Chelsea holds all the cards, thanks to Fernandez’s deal running for years, until 2032. The priority, Cole says, needs to be protecting their team culture, not just keeping star players happy.
"We don’t really know how long this has all been bubbling under, but if Chelsea felt they had to suspend him for a match as big as City, nobody’s coming out ahead, neither the player nor the club," Cole added.
“If you’re running Chelsea, you just tell Enzo, ‘You’re with us for another five years. Keep acting out, and you’ll just be sitting on the bench, career on pause, wasting your weekly wage.’ I get it’s a mess, and I’m not sure there’s a perfect way through, but I haven’t seen a better solution so far.”
Still, Chelsea doesn’t want this to drag on. Their disciplinary decision is really about keeping standards high behind the scenes. Rosenior is focusing on building a team that holds itself together, not just a collection of stars. Chelsea still sees Fernandez as crucial to their plans and hopes this whole episode resets things, not sparks a bigger problem. With the race for Champions League football and an FA Cup semi-final against Leeds on the horizon, they want to settle things and get Enzo back on the pitch where he matters most.
