Nottingham Forest's €17.5m Bid for Gjivairo Read Rejected by Feyenoord
Nottingham Forest have tested Feyenoord’s resolve for highly rated full-back Gjivairo Read with a €17.5m (£14.9m) offer – and been firmly knocked back.
The bid, confirmed by Fabrizio Romano on X, marks Forest’s first formal move for the 20-year-old, who has quickly grown into one of the most watched young right-backs in Europe. Feyenoord’s answer was swift and clear: not enough.
Forest knock, Feyenoord hold firm
Forest’s opening proposal never really came close to the Dutch club’s expectations. According to Voetbal International journalist Martijn Krabbendam, relayed by Sport Witness, a figure closer to €25m (£21.3m) would drag Feyenoord to the negotiating table and turn this into a serious auction rather than a speculative probe.
That number is hardly eye-watering in the current market for young, attack-minded full-backs with top-flight experience. Which is why this story doesn’t just belong to Nottingham.
It drags Liverpool into the frame too.
Liverpool watching while others move
Read has long been admired at Anfield. Liverpool’s right-back situation is delicate, with questions over depth and durability in a position that has been a cornerstone of their playing identity for years.
On paper, Read looks like a clean solution. A modern full-back, already with 54 senior appearances for Feyenoord at just 20, and a profile that has drawn interest from some of Europe’s heaviest hitters, including Manchester City and Bayern Munich.
Yet Liverpool remain on the sidelines.
The logic from inside Anfield may be straightforward. Andoni Iraola is about to get his first extended look at Conor Bradley and Jeremie Frimpong in pre-season, with preparations ramping up around July 13. The new head coach might want to assess both the Northern Irishman and the Dutchman before he signs off on another right-back arriving.
If he likes what he sees, Liverpool could decide they are covered. On paper, at least.
A gamble at right-back
The problem is that “on paper” doesn’t win you a 50-game season. Both Bradley and Frimpong carry durability concerns that make the idea of going into the campaign with just that pair a serious gamble.
Liverpool have already watched one potential option disappear. Michael Kayode, previously seen as a viable target, has committed his future to Brentford with a long-term deal. That route is closed.
Read is not without his own medical notes. His 2025/26 campaign was interrupted by a hamstring issue, the kind of injury that raises a flag but doesn’t necessarily define a player, especially one still developing physically at 19 and 20. The volume of football he has already played for Feyenoord underlines why so many clubs are circling.
This is the market Liverpool now operate in: young, high-ceiling, tactically flexible players, ideally signed before their price explodes. Read fits that mould almost too neatly.
Forest ready to go again
Forest, for their part, are not walking away. Romano reports they are expected to return with an improved offer, encouraged rather than deterred by Feyenoord’s rejection. The first bid was a marker. The next one will reveal how serious they truly are about building their back line around Read.
If Krabbendam’s information holds, Feyenoord’s stance is pragmatic rather than emotional. Hit €25m and they will listen. At that point, this turns from a one-club pursuit into a race.
And that is where Liverpool’s hesitancy becomes dangerous.
At a time when they need to be smart with their budget, a fee in that bracket for a player with Read’s upside looks more like an opportunity than a luxury. Especially with other elite clubs already linked and Forest willing to move decisively.
Everyone else seems to have made their mind up about Gjivairo Read’s potential.
Now the question is whether Liverpool act on their admiration, or watch a Premier League rival steal in for a player who could have solved a problem position for the next decade.
