Nottingham Forest ‘rejected record transfer approach from Chelsea’ as private talks emerge

reportedly rejected an approach from Chelsea for centre-back Murillo during the January transfer window.

Forest have emerged as the ‘s surprise package this season, with Champions League qualification a distinct possibility heading into the second half of the campaign.

The January transfer window may have presented an unwanted challenge for Forest, given the performance levels of some of their players so far this season.

But following the window shutting on Monday, Forest are pretty much back where they began on 1 January, with all of their key talents still contracted to the club.

That could’ve been much different had owner Evangelos Marinakis sanctioned the sale of star defender Murillo amid interest from rivals .

The Blues are said to have gone after the defender in the early part of the window, with Forest refusing to entertain the prospect of a sale.

That’s according to , who have revealed a record-breaking sale, in excess of the £47.5million they banked for Brennan Johnson off Spurs, was on the table.

Forest, boosted by their lofty league position, were able to fend off the interest and instead offered Murillo a new contract, which he duly accepted.

There was some frustration felt from Forest’s side during the January window though, with the East Midlands-based side having eyed up a new forward addition.

Yoane Wissa was earmarked as the most likely candidate but a bid believed to be in the region of £18m was swiftly turned away by Brentford, who like Forest weren’t willing to let any of their best players leave mid-season.

Joel Ndala, a teenage winger on the books of , did arrive through the door on what was an unusually quiet deadline day for the City Ground outfit, but he isn’t expected to feature much for the senior side this season.

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