Liverpool learn price for 'COMMANDING' Van Dijk replacement | OneFootball

With captain Virgil van Dijk entering the last six months of his contract, Liverpool have learned the asking price for his replacement.

Talk of replacing Van Dijk has been rife, as it also has been with the other two big names at Anfield soon to be out of contract, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Mohamed Salah.

With no breakthrough in talks between the club and the three star players, plenty of reports are speculating on a number of potential replacements.

Nottingham Forest are flying high in the Premier League thanks to a start to the season practically no-one saw coming, including handing the Reds their only loss of the campaign so far. This has mostly been down to a series of incredibly strong defensive displays from Nuno Espirito Santo’s team.

Forest’s Brazilian centre-half Murillo is believed to be in demand by a host of top European clubs after having signed from Corinthians in 2023. Real Madrid, Barcelona and Liverpool have all been credibly linked, and a new report details exactly how much the Reds would have to pay to extract the centre-back described as 'commanding' by all-time Premier League top goalscorer Alan Shearer.

© IMAGO - Murillo Nottingham Forest

How much would Murillo cost?

Sources have reportedly told Football Insider that Forest would require a bid of over £70 million for the 22-year-old, and that they would not consider a January sale even at that price.

However, Forest expect Murillo’s departure to be 'inevitable' and that the player wants Champions League football, something that his current club are unlikely to be able to offer next season.

There is no doubting that Murillo is one of the world’s most promising players in his position, but even so such an eye-watering price tag is sure to raise eyebrows. However, Van Dijk cost the Reds a similar amount of money and made such an immediate and decisive improvement to Liverpool that such an asking price could seem fair.

Van Dijk still may yet extend his contract, but if not the puzzle is becoming clearer in terms of how much would have to be spent in order to replace the Dutchman next summer.