The next job for Marinakis is to tie Nottingham Forest star down, he's on less than Willy Boly - opinion
Yesterday at 02:30 PM
Nottingham Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis deserves a song from the fan base at the very least. If he carries on, he might be able to demand much more from the fan base.
Since arriving at the City Ground, the owner has had the club’s best interests at heart. Okay, there have been mistakes along the way but it’s mad to think some fans are still disgruntled.
Marinakis has been left frustrated in his attempts to revamp the City Ground. However, planned redevelopment should take place in the coming years.
Forest plans to move to Toton were shelved and it’s anticipated that Marinakis listened to the fans over that particular thought process.
On the playing side of things, the man who also owns Olympiacos and Rio Ave has learned some lessons along the way.
He will be the first to admit he’s got some things wrong but over the past 12 months, the club have acted like a proper top-flight football club when it comes to recruitment.
Marinakis is worth his weight in gold to Forest. It’s largely because of him and his financial backing that the club has reached the Promised Land once again.
As any football club owner will preach, however, the work never stops and as a result, Forest owner Marinakis has another task in his inbox that will need addressing soon.
The next task for Marinakis at Forest involves Murillo
The club – and Marinakis – did fantastically well to keep hold of Murillo during the summer transfer window.
It seemed for a while like a foregone conclusion that the Brazilian would leave, with four Premier League clubs eyeing Forest star Murillo.
Forest slapped a £70 million valuation on Murillo, however, and in true defiant Marinakis style, the club stood firm on that figure.
But, Murillo might well be feeling a little short-changed right now at Forest.
His contract sees him earn £30,000-a-week which for some context of being a centre-back on Trentside, is lower than the £40,000-a-week that Willy Boly takes home with him.
Although Forest might have to prepare to wave goodbye to Murillo in the coming transfer windows, it would be nice if he felt valued at the club.
Chelsea fans were very impressed last time out with Murillo and he constantly earns rave reviews from opposition supporters after games.
The defender has been ever-present in the Premier League since making his debut and it’s now time for the club to hand him a bit of a pay rise at the club.
Murillo will benefit from Forest stay
It would have probably been easy for Murillo to leave Forest this summer and had he pushed for a move, he might have been sold.
However, Murillo appears happy at the football club and given that he’s played every Premier League game for over a year, that’s hardly surprising.
| Position | Team | PlayedMP | WonW | DrawnD | LostL | ForGF | AgainstGA | DiffGD | PointsPts |
| 9 | TottenhamTottenham | 7 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 14 | 8 | 6 | 10 |
| 10 | Nottm ForestNottingham Forest | 7 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 7 | 6 | 1 | 10 |
| 11 | BrentfordBrentford | 7 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 13 | 13 | 0 | 10 |
At 22-years-old, Murillo will understand the importance of playing regular football and he was always going to get the opportunity to do that at Forest.
If he moves in the future, he should choose his destination wisely. For a centre-back, it’s vital to be playing and the last thing he wants is to sit on a bench and go backwards.
Marinakis is a man who has his finger on the pulse at Forest and with that in mind, it would be no surprise to see Murillo get a wage hike in the coming months.
