Nottingham Forest's bold £21m next summer signing could be wonderkid on Newcastle's radar
Nottingham Forest have been linked with a talented young player making waves in Europe
Despite losing arguably their most important player in the shape of Elliot Anderson, Nottingham Forest have been distinctly quiet in the transfer market so far – but that could be about to change, with reports suggesting that a young talent from the Eredivisie could be close to joining Oliver Glasner’s squad.
Forest appear to be inching closer to a deal to sign Feyenoord’s 20-year-old right-back Givairo Read, a Netherlands Under-21 international who was previously reported to be a transfer target for Bayern Munich – but is Read ready for the Premier League, and how likely is that a deal gets done before deadline day?
Nottingham Forest set to sign Givario Read – reports
According to Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf, Nottingham Forest have already reached verbal agreement with Read on personal terms and only need to agree a transfer fee with Feyenoord before a deal can be completed – but that’s a bridge they’ve yet to cross.
Forest have already made three bids, with the latest and largest reportedly totalling €22m (£19m) including add-ons. That wasn’t enough to sway Feyenoord, however.
De Telegraaf don’t claim to know their asking price, but do state that Forest are ready to go as high as €25m (£21m) to land Read, who has established himself as a regular starter over the course of the last 18 months. Whether that’s enough is still unclear, and it’s stated that Feyenoord would prefer to keep the youngster on their books for another year if possible.
This isn’t the first time that they’ve found themselves fielding enquiries about Read. Both Bayern Munich and Newcastle were reported to be interested over the winter, but a badly-timed hamstring injury, which sidelined him for three months, scuppered any chances of a deal. If either side retain any interest, they have yet to act upon it, seemingly clearing the way for Nottingham Forest if they can bridge the financial gap with Feyenoord.
Apparently the deal agreed between Read and his potential new club is for a five-year deal worth £3.4m per year before bonuses – around four times what he’s earning in the Netherlands. Feyenoord are hoping to persuade him to sign a contract extension at De Kuip, which could slow proceedings down, but are unlikely to be able to match Forest’s financial firepower.
Assuming Read rejects new terms, Feyenoord may eventually feel compelled to sell if the price is right, although with three years remaining on Read’s current contract his club have a strong negotiating position. The extent of their determination to keep a key player (or at least to extract maximum value for him) will determine the likelihood that this deal gets over the line.
Is Read ready for the Premier League?
The difficulty in assessing Read’s readiness for the Premier League should Nottingham Forest succeed in signing him is that the sample size is very small – thanks in part to that hamstring injury, he was only able to start 11 Eredivisie matches last season and he has just one Dutch Under-21 cap to his name, with no call-ups to the senior side on his CV.
The stats from that small sample size, however, are extremely impressive, especially in terms of his ability to handle one-on-one situations both with and without the ball.
A fine technician who succeeded with an exceptional 72% of his dribbles last season, he also won over 60% of his defensive duels and demonstrated good judgement in the tackle. His positional game needs some work still, but he does the job when he’s in the right place at the right time.
He’s also an accurate passer who provided three assists for Feyenoord last season and he seems ready made for Glasner’s back three system, where he would be freed up to attack and his defensive positioning would be less of a focus. He certainly should prove to be a more natural wing-back than players like Ola Aina or Jair, who are more defensively-minded.
The unanswerable question is whether he can maintain his performance levels in England. There is a long list of players who flourished in the Dutch leagues but struggled on the other side of the Channel, and Read’s youth and lack of experience makes it difficult to determine how he might adapt – but the fundamental talent is there.
There will also be a question mark about those hamstrings. The injury in January which wrecked his chances of a move to Bayern Munich or Newcastle was his second such issue of the season, and in total he missed five months of football due to similar issues. The medical may be important if the deal advances that far.
Assuming he’s healed up sufficiently, however, he has the skillset to complement Glasner’s tactical style and the talent to thrive at the top level – but if he is signed with an eye to becoming a regular starter, it would be a risky move as well as an exciting one.