Givairo Read: Liverpool's Right-Back Target Amid Premier League Interest
Liverpool’s search for a long-term answer at right-back has taken them back to the Netherlands – and Givairo Read is suddenly right at the centre of a Premier League tug of war.
The 20-year-old Feyenoord defender has exploded out of the blocks this season, driving their unbeaten start in the Eredivisie and forcing England’s elite to sit up. Five assists in seven league games from full-back is not a hot streak anymore; it is a pattern.
Liverpool, Arsenal and City circle
Liverpool have tracked Read closely since the summer and are still locked onto his progress, with Arsenal and Manchester City also firmly in the frame. All three clubs have kept scouts on him as his influence has grown week by week in Rotterdam.
The interest is not new. Read came close to a move to England in the last window. Nottingham Forest tabled a bid, while Everton pushed hard and were backed by Roma’s admiration, with both clubs linked through the Friedkin Group. In the end, Feyenoord kept their man and Read stayed put, but the spotlight only grew brighter.
Now, as his performances stack up, the clubs who watched and waited are back on alert.
A right-back who changes games
What is driving this scramble is clear. Read is not just defending his flank; he is tilting games from it. Those five Eredivisie assists this season have underlined why he is seen as one of the most intriguing young full-backs in Europe.
That attacking output is a major part of the appeal. For clubs who expect their full-backs to dictate tempo and create overloads high up the pitch, Read fits the modern template: aggressive, progressive, productive.
The attention that built in the summer has not faded. It has hardened.
Liverpool’s right-back riddle
At Anfield, the need is pressing. Liverpool are wrestling with a genuine conundrum on the right side of their defence.
Jeremie Frimpong has struggled to find consistent form this term, opening the door for Andoni Iraola to turn to Barcelona loanee Ronald Araujo. The Uruguayan has started Liverpool’s last three league matches at right-back and has looked increasingly assured.
He has, for now, made the role his own. Yet everyone knows his natural home is in the centre of defence. If he maintains this level, he may end up being groomed as Virgil van Dijk’s long-term successor rather than a permanent solution out wide.
That leaves Liverpool weighing up their options. Read, young, dynamic and already delivering in a top European league, fits the profile of a long-term project who could grow into the position.
January on the horizon
Sources believe Read could emerge as a realistic option in January. The key question is who moves from admiration to action.
Liverpool, Arsenal and Manchester City are all monitoring, but none has yet made the decisive step. Feyenoord know they have a valuable asset on their hands; the player knows he is heading into a crucial phase of his career.
At 20, a jump to the Premier League would be a seismic moment, the kind of move that shapes a decade rather than a season. For now, though, his focus remains on Feyenoord and the Eredivisie, where those five assists keep him firmly in the notebooks of England’s biggest clubs.
His rise 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 games offer another stage, another test, and another chance for Liverpool, Arsenal and City to run the rule over a right-back who suddenly finds his next step under intense scrutiny.
