A great summer awaits at Manchester United. Not only do Sir Jim Ratcliffe and co need to appoint a new permanent manager, there is a lot to do in the transfer market.
Casemiro’s departure means United will need to sign a midfielder, and with the likes of Sandro Tonali and Elliott Anderson linked with signings, it promises to be an exciting few months.
That being said, who they can get may depend on how much cash they have in reserve. Tonali and Anderson are both valued at more than £100m.
Signing any of these wouldn’t leave much room in the market for anything else.
What the summer transfer window will bring to Man United
Signing a new midfielder is undoubtedly at the top of the agenda, but it’s not the only thing the Old Trafford squad are looking to strengthen.
In fact, reports this weekend claimed that they had held initial talks to sign Marcos Senesi from Bournemouth. This would be a cost-effective deal as the Argentine is actually out of contract at the end of this season.
But Senesi is not the only centre-half in United’s sights.
According to ESPN, the club have added several left-handed central defenders and have started checking out Murillo from Nottingham Forest.
However, signing a new centre-back is not thought to be a priority after Harry Maguire recently signed a new contract with Manchester City.
He could also cost around £70m, with previous reports indicating that an in-area bid is likely to be accepted by Forest officials.
Comparison of Murillo and Senesi
If Ratcliffe is looking to cut costs again this summer, signing Senesi would certainly make a lot of sense.
The centre-back has been one of the best players in the Premier League this season and on a free transfer, it feels like a no-brainer.
Still, he will be 29 by the time he moves from club to club in the summer. Of course, he’s not particularly old, but Murillo is definitely the better option.
Last season, aged just 23, he was described as “one of the best players in the Premier League” by journalist Dean Jones, and despite Forest’s underperformance in 2025/26, he still impressed.
At just 5ft 11, two inches taller than Lisandro Martinez, he may not be the world’s tallest centre-back, but he is a tenacious performer with the typical South American warrior mentality.
He is a bulldog of a defender, strong in duels as well as a calm and collected presence at the back. Last season, he recorded 0.76 successful dribbles per 90 minutes, ranking him in the top 3% of centre-backs in Europe’s top five leagues by this metric.
Of course, defenders are not judged solely on their ability to carry the ball forward, but knowing they have a centre-half who can advance the ball well will bode well for United and their midfielders.
In that respect, Senesi’s dribbling success rate is only 0.10 points out of 90, which is in the bottom 30%. That being said, his passing is very impressive. The Argentine has recorded 0.27 through balls per 90 minutes this season, ranking him in the best 1% of players in similar positions on the continent.
Murillo vs Senesi: 2025/26 Premier League | ||
|---|---|---|
Statistics (every 90 minutes) | Murillo | year |
Pass accuracy | 83% | 74% |
The tackle I made | 1.5 | 1.8 |
Take-up completed | 0.5 | 0.1 |
Successful take-up | 64% | 60% |
won an aerial battle | 1 | 2.5 |
Aerial duel success rate% | 51% | 48% |
Won a ground duel | 2.2 | 2.8 |
Ground duel success rate% | 56% | 56% |
intercept | 1.4 | 1.6 |
clean sheet | 0.3 | 0.3 |
Number of goals conceded | 1.3 | 1.6 |
Senesi looks better defensively, winning more duels, albeit with a lower success rate than Murillo, but the latter is better when it comes to passing and dribbling.
Senesi, who was transferred on a free transfer as a stopgap, starts to take on more meaning when you judge things by numbers. However, Murillo’s potential is huge and he has the potential to become a true Premier League stalwart.
He is still very young for a centre-back and is believed to still have the ability to become one of the best centre-backs in the Premier League.
praised as a “monstrous” being By Ryan Taylorthe Forest defender has proven himself over a consistent period of time, perhaps more than the likes of Lenny Yolo, and certainly more than Aiden Haven.
Alongside another beast in Maguire, this could be the birth of a great defensive partnership.
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