Givairo Read: Liverpool's Next Right-Back Target?
Liverpool’s search for a long-term answer at right-back has taken them back to the Netherlands – and Givairo Read is refusing to leave their notebooks.
The 20-year-old Feyenoord defender has opened the Eredivisie season at full tilt, driving an unbeaten start and forcing some of Europe’s biggest clubs to pay attention. Liverpool have been tracking him closely, and they are not alone. Arsenal and Manchester City are in the stands too, watching the same rapid rise.
A breakout start in Rotterdam
Read has not eased his way into the campaign. He has ripped into it.
Five assists in seven Eredivisie appearances from right-back is the headline number, but it’s the way he’s doing it that has sharpened the focus around him. Feyenoord have leaned on his energy and delivery on the flank, and his attacking output has become a key part of their early-season rhythm.
That form has simply intensified interest that was already simmering through the summer.
Nottingham Forest pushed hardest, tabling a bid to bring him to England. Everton also made a serious play, with their pursuit strengthened by parallel interest from Roma, both clubs sitting under the Friedkin Group umbrella. The move never materialised. Read stayed put, stayed patient, and then started the season like this.
Premier League giants circling
Liverpool’s interest is not new. They tracked Read throughout the summer window, with Arsenal and City doing the same, and the three Premier League heavyweights have not backed off.
All three have continued to monitor his progress week by week, and his explosive start has only reinforced the view that he is ready for a bigger stage. At Anfield, in particular, Read is being assessed as a possible solution to a position that has quietly become a problem.
Liverpool’s right-back picture is complicated. Jeremie Frimpong has struggled to put a consistent run of form together this season, forcing Andoni Iraola into a reshuffle. The Liverpool head coach has turned to Barcelona loanee Ronald Araujo at right-back for the last three league matches.
Araujo has responded. He has looked assured, aggressive, and increasingly comfortable driving up the flank. The twist? His natural home is at centre-back. If he maintains this level, he could yet emerge as Virgil van Dijk’s long-term successor in the heart of Liverpool’s defence rather than as a permanent full-back.
That leaves Liverpool weighing up their options. Read is firmly on that list.
January on the horizon
Sources believe a January move for Read is very much on the table. Nothing is advanced yet; it will come down to which of his admirers decide to convert long-term scouting into a concrete offer.
At 20, he is walking into a pivotal phase of his career. A jump to the Premier League would be a major leap – in profile, in pressure, in expectation. For now, though, his job is simple: keep producing in the Eredivisie.
His five assists so far have ensured that isn’t a problem. Every game he plays in the Netherlands only keeps him brighter on the radar of England’s elite.
His form has also been recognised at international level. Read has been named in the Netherlands Under-21 squad for their upcoming European Championship qualifiers against Norway, Slovenia and Bosnia and Herzegovina. Those fixtures hand him another stage, another set of high-stakes minutes, and another chance to convince Liverpool, Arsenal and Manchester City that he is worth the next step.
If he delivers again, how long can Feyenoord realistically hold on?
