The £15m Premier League defender bargain Newcastle United can beat Arsenal and Chelsea to this summer

And now the hyenas come to pick the bones clean. It has been less than a week since Nottingham Forest were kneecapped by a four-point deduction following breaches of the Premier League's profit and sustainability rules, and already we are reading reports linking their best and brightest with departures from the City Ground.

Take, for instance, Brazilian defender Murillo - a revelatory presence at the heart of defence since his arrival from Corinthians last summer who, according to an exclusive from Daily Mail, is understood to be clanging the respective alarm bells of Liverpool, Arsenal, Chelsea, and Newcastle United. Continental giants Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain are also understood to be monitoring the 21-year-old's situation, but let's try and deal with one kick to the gut at a time.

The Mail claim that Forest are in serious danger of falling foul of financial restrictions once again next season if they don't sacrifice at least one of their most prominent assets in the coming months, and to that end Murillo joins the likes of Morgan Gibbs-White and Taiwo Awoniyi as viable candidates for a reluctant sale. The South American was signed for around £15 million, but it is expected that he would generate a decent profit on that investment if he were to leave.

Which brings us to those clubs who are supposedly chasing him - the ones who, for the most part, benefit from a codification of the status quo. One of the most frequent arguments against the Premier League's profit and sustainability ceiling is that it protects those fortunate enough to have already established themselves as heavy hitters in the upper echelons of the top flight. Certainly, Arsenal and Liverpool fall into this category, although Newcastle are swiftly discovering that being the richest side in world football matters for little if you're not allowed to spend your vast wealth, and Chelsea are facing financial pressures of their own following the unhinged shopping sprees of their recent past.

Nevertheless, it is one of these latter two teams (surely the Magpies, given the muddled insanity that has taken hold at Stamford Bridge) that Murillo should probably sign for. At this early stage of his career, the Brazilian can ill afford to languish in a dugout somewhere, only being rolled out in the event of injury or Carabao Cup progression. He needs minutes to develop his obvious talent, and it is on Tyneside that he is most likely to get them.

Arsenal and Liverpool both have relatively unshakeable starting duos at the heart of their respective defences, while Chelsea are Chelsea, but Newcastle feel as if they could be a natural fit. Not only are they evidently in need of a long-term partner for Sven Botman, but they are a club in possession of considerable ambitions both domestically and on the continent. It may take them a little while to reach those goals, but Murillo would do well to get in on the ground floor of their rocket-propelled project.

What's more, he feels like a Newcastle signing - a young, exciting player with the capacity to make a difference now, and an untold resale potential in years to come. Nottingham Forest's enforced loss could very well be the Toon Army's gain.