Nottingham Forest defender Morato has admitted compatriot Murillo is the perfect example for him to follow as he establishes himself in Europe.
Rafa Reis’ blog on UOL have an interview with the centre-back today in which he discusses his teammate and Nottingham Forest’s Champions League push.
The 23-year-old joined Nottingham Forest in an €11m deal in August from Benfica as they looked to strengthen their defensive options for Nuno Espirito Santo.
It was the next step in Europe for the defender, who joined Benfica in a €7.6m deal from Sao Paulo in 2019 but only moved into the first team at the Portuguese club in 2021.
He’s largely played a back up role this season, with 22 appearances in the Premier League to date but just 27% of the available minutes under his belt.
That’s thanks to the excellent defensive relationship between Nikola Milenkovic and Murillo, which has been the bedrock of Nottingham Forest’s success this season. It seems Morato is not bothered, though, and believes he can instead follow in the latter’s footsteps.
“He [Murillo] is very good, out of the curve. We have been helping a lot since I got here,” he said.
“It is good to see the kid growing in a team like ours and getting to the national team. I believe that this is the natural way for me to follow: first, to start and then have a chance in the (national) selection.
“As I was already in Europe and played in the Champions League, I didn’t have that much problem of adapting to English football. Of course it is a championship different from the Portuguese, with a higher technical and financial level. But you could adapt well.”
The focus for Morato and Nottingham Forest is on ensuring they qualify for the Champions League at the end of this season.
They currently sit third in the table but the weekend loss to Everton means Newcastle United sit a point behind in fourth, Manchester City are two behind in fifth and Chelsea and Aston Villa are sixth and seventh on 54 points.
It’s going to be a tight, nervous end to the campaign and Morato admits they didn’t see it coming after just avoiding relegation last season.
“Oh, I couldn’t imagine such a good season,” he added.
“The expectations were good, but what is happening is much better than we thought. Fighting for a place in the Champions League now is our reality. And all the merit for that is ours.”
