Nottingham Forest have started the 2024/25 Premier League season exceptionally well, with Nikola Milenkovic and Murillo striking up a brilliant partnership.
The Reds chose to prioritise quality over quantity during the summer and in signing Milenkovic for £12 million, the club might have just hit the jackpot.
Forest wanted to add more energy to the squad – certainly the forward line – but there was also a real demand from Nuno Espirito Santo to bolster his rearguard.
Last season, Forest were dreadful at defending. Set-piece goals were conceded regularly and the team just couldn’t seem to combat shipping goals from those situations.
Milenkovic has really helped with the defensive side of how Forest approach games and his arrival has proved a wonderful addition to the squad.
The real reason why Forest decided to sign Nikola Milenkovic
Murillo was outstanding last season and is valued at around £70 million right now. It’s quite remarkable that the club managed to not only keep him but add a player equally as good next to him.
Milenkovic swapped European football with Fiorentina for an opportunity to play in the Premier League and he feels like a superb piece of transfer business.
Now, Espirito Santo has been sharing what the thought process was around signing the Serbian performer during the summer transfer window.
He told Sky Sports: “More than anything it was the profile. They complement each other. I really believe in that. Two centre-halves have to work as one.
“They cannot ignore the distance between them. It has to be really, really, really tight sometimes. The covering, the communication. And they have been doing really well.”
Milenkovic and Murillo are the envy of some teams in the Premier League
It’s quite fantastic just how well Murillo and Milenkovic are currently playing alongside each other and long may it continue.
What Murillo makes up in aerial quality, Milenkovic more than brings to the table, whilst the Brazilian loves to bring the ball out from the back.
Milenkovic is just so effortless on the pitch and he’s already attracting interest from bigger Premier League clubs despite a handful of games in the top flight.
He’s now the Serbia captain and clearly, he’s enjoying his football at Forest if the nature of his performances are anything to go by.
The recruitment model at Forest has left a lot to be desired in the past but this does feel like a meticulous piece of business rather than a very lucky gamble.
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