Nottingham Forest Pursue Gjivairo Read as Liverpool Weigh Options
Nottingham Forest have made their move. Liverpool are still watching.
Forest have seen an opening €17.5m (£14.9m) bid for Feyenoord right-back Gjivairo Read rejected, with Fabrizio Romano reporting that the Premier League club are expected to come back with an improved offer for the 20-year-old.
Feyenoord, according to Voetbal International journalist Martijn Krabbendam (via Sport Witness), are thought to be ready to talk seriously if a proposal reaches around €25m (£21.3m). In today’s market, that is hardly an eye-watering figure for a starting fullback with Read’s profile and experience.
Yet while Forest edge closer to that number, Liverpool – who have been linked with the Dutchman and are wrestling with their own right-back issues – remain on the sidelines.
Forest push, Liverpool pause
Forest’s intent is clear. They have identified Read, they have tested Feyenoord’s resolve, and they are preparing to return. For a club intent on consolidating their Premier League status, this is the kind of targeted, aggressive move that can reshape a back line for years.
The situation at Liverpool is more complex, and more delicate.
Read is understood to be admired at Anfield. He fits the modern template: technically sharp, comfortable in possession, athletic, already hardened by 54 senior appearances for Feyenoord at just 20. He is not a speculative punt from an academy side; he is already a first-team player at one of the Eredivisie’s heavyweights.
Yet the new Anfield regime appears in no rush. Andoni Iraola is about to get his first live look at Conor Bradley and Jeremie Frimpong in pre-season, with games starting around July 13. The early weeks of that schedule may well decide how aggressively Liverpool move in the market.
If Iraola believes Bradley and Frimpong can share the load, the club might decide that right-back is already covered. On paper, that sounds reasonable. In reality, there is a significant caveat: durability.
Both players carry fitness concerns that make the idea of relying solely on them a gamble. Two talented options, yes – but, as last season underlined, two halves of a solution do not always make a whole when the fixture list tightens and the injuries mount.
A market opportunity hiding in plain sight
That is where Read comes back into sharp focus.
His injury record in 2025/26 is not spotless; a hamstring issue at 19 will give any recruitment department something to think about. Yet that kind of problem, at that age, is far from unusual. More important is the volume of football he has already played and the level at which he has done it.
Feyenoord trusted him early. He has handled the pressure of competing for titles and European places. At 20, he is still years away from his peak, and he is already drawing admiring glances from some of Europe’s biggest clubs, with links to Manchester City and Bayern Munich previously reported.
That is the context in which a potential €25m fee must be judged. For a club of Liverpool’s stature and budget, that is not a speculative outlay on an unknown. It is a calculated investment in a position that has become increasingly pivotal in the modern game, especially in systems that demand fullbacks step into midfield or provide constant width.
Brentford’s Michael Kayode, once seen as a possible option, is now off the table after signing a long-term deal. The pool of high-level, attainable right-backs is not large. When one of the remaining names starts edging towards a move – and at a price point far below the sums quoted for elite, established stars – hesitation carries a cost.
A decision Liverpool cannot dodge for long
This is why Forest’s pursuit matters beyond the City Ground. It tests Liverpool’s conviction.
If Richard Hughes and his recruitment team truly see Read as a high-ceiling solution, allowing a direct Premier League rival to secure him for what would be a relatively modest fee will invite scrutiny. Not just from supporters, but from within a league where marginal gains at fullback often separate the contenders from the chasing pack.
Everyone in the market seems to recognise Read’s upside. Feyenoord know it. Forest are acting on it. Europe’s elite have already taken note.
Liverpool, for now, are watching. The question is how long they can afford to do so before a promising opportunity in a critical position slips into someone else’s back four for good.
