Nottingham Forest can look ahead to another Premier League campaign and there may be cause for some quiet optimism at the City Ground.
Only an absolute freak set of results on the final day would see Luton Town leapfrog Forest.
Nuno Espirito Santo won’t feel completely comfortable until the final whistle on Sunday, but plans for next season can start being put together.
Forest certainly need reinforcements this summer and there should be ongoing work over potential new signings.
Some key players are bound to attract interest this summer and Forest may be forced to cash in on at least one big player.
Morgan Gibbs-White may be the favourite to go, but that would still leave Forest with some real talent in Nuno’s ranks.
Micah Richards on Murillo
Ola Aina has enjoyed a strong season and few full backs will want to come up against Callum Hudson-Odoi or Anthony Elanga any time soon.
There is quality in the Forest squad and defender Murillo is a fine example.
The Brazilian centre back signed for Forest from Corinthians last summer and has enjoyed a superb first season in the Premier League.
Left-footed centre backs are immensely popular in the modern game and Murillo has already attracted interest.
Barcelona and Real Madrid are keen whilst Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool and Newcastle United have all been linked too.
Forest will fight to keep Murillo and he has now been praised by pundit Micah Richards.
Speaking on The Rest is Football, Richards picked out Murillo as a ‘great little player’, highlighting his lack of size as a centre back.
Richards added that Murillo is ‘really aggressive’ whilst praising his reading of the game in the heart of the Forest back line.
“Murillo, the centre half, a great little player,” said Richards. “He’s only small but really reads the game well, he’s really aggressive, really quick.”
Richards praises Nottingham Forest goalkeeper Matz Sels
Murillo has certainly done enough to earn praise from Richards but the pundit also hailed goalkeeper Matz Sels.
Forest pounced to land Sels from Strasbourg in January and his arrival was met with some raised eyebrows.
Sels had previously struggled with Newcastle United but Forest were confident that he was ready for another chance in English football.
Forest have been proven right so far with Sels turning in impressive displays so far this season.
Richards praised Sels for steadying Forest’s defence, believing that he has brought more confidence to the back line.
“The goalkeeper as well, Sels. I think he’s done a really good job since he’s coming as number one. He seems to have steadied the back line a little bit, a lot more confidence, so they’ve got some really good players,” Richards added.
Forest have some strong pieces in place for next season, such as Sels and Murillo and will hopefully avoid becoming mired in another relegation battle.
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