Nottingham Forest secure signing of Brazilian centre-back Murillo

Nottingham Forest have completed the permanent signing of defender Murillo from Brazilian club Corinthians.

The 21-year-old centre-half agreed a five-year contract after the two clubs agreed a reported fee of £11.2million plus add-ons.

Murillo is Forest’s sixth summer signing following Anthony Elanga, Ola Aina, Matt Turner, Gonzalo Montiel and Andrey Santos.

Murillo told Forest’s website: “I am very excited to join Nottingham Forest.

“It is a big club with a huge fanbase and I cannot wait to start playing at The City Ground.

“The Premier League is the best league in the world, so I can’t wait to test myself and give my all for this club.”

Head coach Steve Cooper told the media earlier on Wednesday that he was also expecting the club to seal the loan signing of Arsenal left-back Nuno Tavares.

Cooper, whose side play at Chelsea in the Premier League on Saturday, said: “There’s a lot of work going on and maybe there’s some things that are being speculated that are very true and some that couldn’t be any further away from the truth.”

With the transfer window set to close at 11pm on Friday, Cooper said there had been no further developments regarding the possible departure of Brennan Johnson, who has been heavily linked with Tottenham.

The club confirmed on Thursday that midfielder Lewis O’Brien had joined Middlesbrough on a season-long loan.

Other incomings linked with the Reds include Chelsea’s Callum Hudson-Odoi and Benfica goalkeeper Odysseas Vlachodimos, while a swap deal has reportedly been agreed for Bologna midfielder Nico Dominguez, with Forest midfielder Remo Freuler going the other way.

Cooper did not confirm whether skipper Joe Worrall will return to the side for Saturday’s trip to Stamford Bridge following the death of his uncle, police officer Sergeant Graham Saville, who was hit by a train last Thursday while trying to save a distressed man on railway tracks.

Forest defender Worrall missed Wednesday night’s home Carabao Cup defeat to Burnley through suspension after his dismissal at Manchester United last week.

“Joe is dealing with the tragedy and we’re supporting him as best as we can,” Cooper added. “We’re here for him. Family comes first, football comes second.”

Cooper has no new injury concerns after Wednesday night’s cup tie, for which he made seven changes, but confirmed Orel Mangala, Danilo, Scott McKenna and Wayne Hennessey were unavailable.

Brazilian defender Felipe, yet to feature this season due to a knee injury, returned to the bench against Burnley and could feature at Stamford Bridge.