FotMob Young Player of the Month: Feyenoord right-back Givairo Read
Without Givairo Read, Feyenoord might not be top of the Eredivisie table right now. That’s how important the 20-year-old has been to Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s team over the first two months of the season. Read embodies what makes Feyenoord pace-setters in the Dutch title race.
Read’s numbers to start the season have been outstanding. The 20-year-old has registered more assists (five) than any other Feyenoord player. He has also created more Big Chances (seven) than any of his teammates, highlighting his capacity as a natural inventor down the right side.
Read’s highest rating of the season so far came in September’s 7-0 win over PEC Zwolle for Feyenoord when the 20-year-old contributed a hat trick of assists. On top of this, Read had 11 touches in the opposition box – only wide forward Anis Hadj Moussa charted more than the attack-minded right back.
September was a sparkling month for Read who notched four assists in just three games, averaging a FotMob rating of 8.5 per match. The 20-year-old deserves to be recognised for a run of eye-catching performances that have marked him as one of the most promising young full backs in the game right now.
Feyenoord are setting the pace at the top of the Eredivisie having won seven and drawn two of their nine fixtures so far. Van Bronckhorst has forged a formidable side that looks to play on the front foot, as demonstrated by the fact Feyenoord have scored an incredible 39 league goals this season.
As someone who likes to get forward at every possible opportunity, Read helps set the tone for Feyenoord. He is a modern full back in the way he plays the game, often operating as one of Feyenoord’s most advanced players. Read is a big reason why the Eredivisie leaders are so potent in the final third.
On top of this, though, Read’s defensive numbers are similarly commendable. Only Charles Vanhoutte is averaging more tackles per 90 minutes this season than Read who also ranks highly for interceptions per 90 minutes. The 20-year-old is excelling on both sides of the ball at all aspects of the game.
“I like to attack,” said Read when we asked him about the balance of his game. “I’m like an extra attacker. The connection I have with my right winger is good. I go in front a lot and he passes me the ball a lot so I can get assists like last month. I also have to defend a lot, but I like to defend.”
In this form, some of Europe’s biggest clubs are surely watching Read closely. Roma were reportedly interested in the full back over the summer, even entering negotiations with Feyenoord for the player. Reports at the time, however, claimed the Dutch side wanted a sizable fee for one of their prize assets. Read’s form has justified their stance.
Bayern Munich, Liverpool and Nottingham Forest have also been mentioned as admirers of Read who is surely on course to receive his first international call-up to Xavi Hernández’s Netherlands’ squad at some point in the near future. The full back is almost certainly on the former Barcelona midfielder’s radar.
There is plenty more for Read to achieve at his current club. At the age of 20, the full back has been a consistent starter at Feyenoord for the last three seasons, yet he has still to get his hands on the Eredivisie trophy. After such a strong start to the present campaign, that has to be the primary aim.
At Champions League level, Read is testing himself against some of the best teams in Europe. Indeed, he played every minute of the league phase matches against Barcelona and Como, contributing to an important win over the latter to boost Feyenoord’s chances of making the knockout rounds.
As one of the best young players in the Eredivisie, Read has all the tools to reach the very top of the game. He boasts a remarkable level of experience for someone still so young and is improving all the time for a Feyenoord side setting the standard at the peak of the Dutch top flight.
All this is especially impressive considering Read missed five months of last season through injury. Without that absence from first team action, there may have been even more interest in Read from across Europe in the summer transfer window. Such a long layoff could have disrupted his development.
Instead, that time away from the game has seemingly helped Read hone in on certain areas of his game that required refinement. His attacking and creative numbers have improved across the board from last season to this, with Feyenoord now harnessing the youngster’s full potential. Read is a worthy winner of the FotMob Young Player of the Month award.
(Cover image from IMAGO, other images from Rising Ballers)
The FotMob Young Player of the Month Award is decided by virtue of average FotMob match ratings and run in conjunction with Rising Ballers. For all related content, make sure you follow @fotmobapp and @RisingBallers on Instagram.
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