Nottingham Forest's €17.5m Bid for Gjivairo Read Rejected by Feyenoord

Nottingham Forest have tested Feyenoord’s resolve with a €17.5m (£14.9m) bid for highly rated right-back Gjivairo Read – and been sent straight back to the drawing board.

The Eredivisie club rejected Forest’s opening offer, with Fabrizio Romano confirming on X that the proposal fell short of Feyenoord’s valuation of the 20-year-old. Forest, though, are not walking away. They are expected to return with an improved bid as they try to steal a march in one of Europe’s most intriguing emerging full-back pursuits.

Forest move first – but the price is clear

Interest in Read has been building steadily. Feyenoord have watched him grow into a first-team regular, already banking 54 senior appearances by the age of 20. That kind of exposure, at a club with Feyenoord’s expectations, tends to attract attention.

According to Voetbal International journalist Martijn Krabbendam, relayed via Sport Witness, Feyenoord would be ready to engage more seriously if a bid in the region of €25m (£21.3m) lands on the table. At that level, any suitor – Forest or otherwise – would find the door open.

For a Premier League club, that fee sits in the “opportunity” bracket rather than the “gamble” category. Especially for a player whose name has already been linked with some of Europe’s heaviest hitters.

Liverpool watching, but not acting

That is where the story takes a sharper edge. Read is understood to be admired at Liverpool, who are wrestling with their own issues at right-back.

On paper, this is the sort of move that would usually have Anfield’s recruitment team hovering. A young, attack-minded full-back with top-flight experience, available for a fee that doesn’t shatter the wage structure or the budget. Yet, as Forest put money on the table, Liverpool remain on the sidelines.

There is a footballing logic to that stance. New head coach Andoni Iraola may want to run the rule over Conor Bradley and Jeremie Frimpong in pre-season, which is due to begin around July 13, before he signs off on any reinforcement in that area. He might feel that, between the Northern Irishman and the Dutchman, he already has the profile he needs on that flank.

The problem lies not in talent, but in trust over the long haul of a season. Both Bradley and Frimpong have faced durability questions, and Liverpool know how quickly a position can become exposed when minutes pile up and bodies break down. Relying on what feels like “two halves of a right-back” is a risk for a club with ambitions on multiple fronts.

A market window that won’t stay open

Options are already narrowing. Brentford’s Michael Kayode, who had looked a plausible solution, is off the table after signing a long-term contract. That closes one avenue and throws more light on Read.

His own injury record in 2025/26 was not spotless – a hamstring problem at 19 raised a flag – but it hardly places him in the “fragile” category. Young players pick up muscle injuries as their bodies fill out and workloads spike. Feyenoord have still trusted him enough to rack up over 50 senior games before his 21st birthday.

The wider market context matters. Read has been linked with Manchester City and Bayern Munich, two clubs who rarely hesitate when they truly believe in a young defender’s ceiling. If the price is around €25m and the competition is of that calibre, allowing Nottingham Forest to quietly wrap up a deal would raise inevitable questions at Liverpool and elsewhere.

Forest, for their part, see the opportunity clearly. A club that has had to be inventive and aggressive in recruitment since returning to the Premier League is now pushing to secure a player whose value could multiply if his development continues on its current path.

A decision point for Liverpool’s hierarchy

This is where the pressure shifts from the pitch to the boardroom. Richard Hughes and his team at Liverpool know they must be precise with their spending this summer. They cannot chase every name. They also cannot afford to miss the right one.

Read sits at that intersection: attainable fee, high upside, proven at a good level, and in a position where Liverpool’s depth chart carries an asterisk. If Forest climb towards Feyenoord’s €25m threshold and no rival responds, the narrative around Liverpool’s recruitment will sharpen quickly.

Everyone else, from data analysts to scouts across Europe, seems more or less convinced about Gjivairo Read’s potential. The question now is simple: will Liverpool act on their admiration, or watch a Premier League rival move first for a player who could solve a problem they already know they have?