Givairo Read: Why Arne Slot is being tipped to return to former club Feyenoord to sign teenage sensation as Liverpool's Trent Alexander-Arnold replacement

Read was born and raised in Bijlmer, which is located on the southern outskirts of Amsterdam. He started out playing football for nearby amateur outfit Zeeburgia, but was picked up by FC Volendam at the age of 11.

He progressed rapidly through the club's youth sector and was still only 16 when he was handed his Eredivisie debut by former Ajax and Netherlands midfielder Wim Jonk, who introduced Read for the final five minutes of a 2-1 win over Fortuna Sittard on March 17, 2023.

By that stage, he was already representing the Netherlands at Under-17 level, and it was during a European Championship qualifier against England 11 days after his Volendam bow that he first came to the attention of Van Persie. The former Feyenoord striker, who had just taken charge of the club's Under-18s, had gone to the game at the Sportpark Nieuw Zuid to watch his son Shaqueel in action, but he couldn't help but be impressed by the home side's right-back.

"I have to admit that I also thought I did well in that match," Read told Voetbal International. "It was one of those days when everything went well and I was lucky that Robin was looking for a right-back for his team.

"He said afterwards that he thought that I had stood out, and not much later Feyenoord contacted my agent. I was already in talks with Volendam. In fact, the contract there was ready and I had more or less decided that I would stay. However, I thought, 'listening never hurts', so I went to speak with Robin. He’s a very good talker and I began to have doubts.

"At Volendam, I would be in the first team, but in Rotterdam I would have to first join Feyenoord's Under-18s. So, I would have to take a step back, with the intention of taking two steps forward in the future. That was a risk, but I thought it was worth the gamble. I really wanted to play under Robin and he immediately put me in the team. He gave me a lot of responsibility and the great thing was that Robin wanted to play very attacking football, exactly like Wim Jonk at Volendam, so that made it easy for me to adapt."

It wasn't long before Read's performances for Van Persie's Under-18s caught the eye of Slot, who invited the teenager to train with the senior squad before he'd even played a game for Feyenoord's Under-21s. Read even travelled with the first team to Marbella for their winter training camp, and when Slot found himself short on cover at right-back for the first leg of the Europa League play-off with Roma on February 15, 2024, the teenager was named on the bench for the game at De Kuip.

"Lutsharel Geertruida was ill, so Bart Nieuwkoop started at right-back," Read explained. "I immediately had the feeling that I might make my debut and the great thing was that Geertruida thought so too. He sent me a text message before the match: 'Get ready, there is a big chance that you will come on. Show what you have worked so hard for all this time and make your family proud.' I thought that was very nice, a really wonderful gesture from a real captain.

"Strangely enough, I wasn't nervous when Slot sent me out of the dugout to warm up. I also didn't have time to realise what a big match it was.

"When I came on, I just played my game as I always did at Volendam and Feyenoord Under-18s: attack whenever I can but be back in time to defend. It was an exciting match, it ended 1-1, but only afterwards do you realise how special it was: Roma, with all that history with Feyenoord, and Jose Mourinho on the bench... I enjoyed it!"

Read also enjoyed working under Slot, whom he credits with helping him both "develop quickly" and settle easily in the senior squad. However, following Slot's move to Merseyside last summer, Read went into the 2024-25 season as Feyenoord's third-choice right-back and wasn't even included in Priske's squad for the first phase of the Champions League. However, injuries to Nieuwkoop and Jordan Lotomba offered Read the chance to stake a claim for a starting spot - and he's taken it with both hands.

Read did a fantastic job marking AC Milan star Rafael Leao on his Champions League debut in February, while he has racked up six assists in his last six appearances for Feyenoord. He even made a little bit of history by creating three goals in the same game, against Twente last month, and Van Persie was astounded that Read wasn't rewarded for his fantastic form with a place in the Netherlands U21s squad for the March international break.

"It is up to [manager] Michael Reiziger to make that decision and maybe he has someone else who is even better but I can't imagine that he does," the ex-striker said. "I haven't heard anything either, so I also don't know if Reiziger has my number. But he can get it anytime!"

In fairness to Reiziger, it wasn't really his call, as the Dutch football federation (KNVB) quite reasonably felt that it would be better for Read to help the U19s qualify for this summer's European Championship (which he did as captain) rather than play a couple of meaningless friendlies for the U21s.

The whole furore, which generated plenty of debate in the Dutch media, only served to underline just how much excitement surrounds a defender that some pundits believe could put himself in a position to challenge for a place in the Netherlands squad for the 2026 World Cup if he maintains his current rate of progress.

As underlined by his recent hat-trick of assists, Read is terrific going forward. He's quick, can beat a man and is a deadly crosser of the ball. He may not boast Alexander-Arnold's ridiculous range of passing, but he's got a great right foot capable of picking out runners with raking passes from deep positions.

Encouragingly, he's also acutely aware of the importance of the defensive side of his role. "You always have to get back, you can't let your defence suffer," he says. "That requires not only fitness, but also insight and communication. I have players around me who coach me well."

Personality-wise, Read is humble but hungry, desperate to soak up as much information and advice as possible to improve as quickly as he can.

Perhaps most impressively of all, he's utterly fearless, with Read admitting that only once has he ever felt nervous before a game, ahead of his first appearance in De Klassieker (Feyenoord-Ajax) earlier in this season, and even in that instance, he was exhilarated rather than inhibited.

It's hardly surprising, then, that while Van Persie loves everything about Read's game, it's his attitude that impresses him most. "When you see how Givi picks things up, how he trains and how he plays, that's extra enjoyable for me," the Premier League winner said.

As Read has pointed out himself, he's not been a right-back for very long. He started out as striker at Zeeburgia and initially played as a midfielder at Volendam before being moved into defence, where he sometimes played at centre-half.

It was only after linking up with Volendam's U21s that he settled into the role of right-back, so it's hardly unsurprising that he still has a lot to learn, particularly in terms of positioning, and finding the right balance between his offensive and defensive responsibilities.

It's something that he's working on, though, just as he's working on becoming stronger, fitter and faster through intensive gym work. He's still only 18, after all, he's only going to get better if given sufficient time to develop physically, mentally and tactically.

While a lot of people are wondering right now whether the Liverpool-linked Read could be the next Alexander-Arnold, Feyenoord assistant coach Etienne Reijnen has already christened him 'The new Denzel Dumfries' - which makes an awful lot of sense. Read has long been a fan of the buccaneering Netherlands right-back and he even got to swap shirts with his compatriot after the recent Champions League last-16 clash between Feyenoord and Inter.

"Dumfries is a player I really look up to," Read said. "We are kind of the same type of player. The way he drives forward, that's something I'm trying to take from his game. Sometimes when I'm watching his matches, I see him do things that I can see myself doing. He is always getting goals and assists!"

If the gossip columns are to be believed, Read, who is expected to feature for the Netherlands U21s at this summer's Euros, will leave Feyenoord at the end of the season for one of Europe's elite, as Barcelona are also said to be interested in his services, while Liverpool fans have taken great encouragement out of the fact that Read recently revealed in an interview that the Reds are his favourite Premier League team.

However, having already signed a contract extension until 2028 in September of last year, Read has just agreed terms on a new deal that will bind him to Feyenoord for an additional year.

"It says a lot about the confidence the club has in me," Read quite correctly pointed out. "It's all going fast, but I realise very well how special everything I'm experiencing now is. I made the decision to move to Rotterdam very consciously almost two years ago and the fact that it turned out this way is a confirmation that my choice was the right one. At the same time, I know that I have to keep working hard to continue this trend and that's also why I'm in the right place at Feyenoord for the coming years."

It certainly feels like the correct call at this stage of his fledgling career, as he is likely to benefit enormously from at least another few years at Feyenoord. Nonetheless, it still feels like only a matter of time before the coach that gave Read his debut at De Kuip tries to whisk him away to Anfield...