Givairo Read has been considered a transfer target for FC Bayern for months. Now, Feyenoord’s former sporting director has revealed just how serious Munich’s interest actually was—and why the deal ultimately fell through.
FC Bayern apparently could have signed Givairo Read as early as last winter. As Dennis te Kloese, the former sporting director of Feyenoord Rotterdam, revealed to De Telegraaf, talks with the German record champions were already at a very advanced stage.
According to him, the Munich club was working intensively to sign the Dutch U-21 international. The plan was to finalize the transfer in the winter and then keep Read at Feyenoord on loan until the end of the season.
“Before the winter break last year, I was actively working on a move for Read to FC Bayern Munich. At that point, several other clubs also entered the race. Their offers were all around 25 million euros, with some even going slightly higher,” te Kloese explained.
Injuries derailed the Bayern deal
But in the end, the move fell through not because of the negotiations, but because of the right-back’s health issues. “The plan last winter was to finalize the transfer, let Givairo stay at Feyenoord for another six months, and then have him move in the summer. But then Givairo suffered two injuries. That ultimately put an end to the deal,” said te Kloese.
According to the former Feyenoord manager, the transfer would very likely have gone through without these setbacks: “I think that a year ago, it was entirely realistic that he would have moved to a major club like FC Bayern Munich or one of the top clubs in England. But after his injury, those clubs adopted a wait-and-see approach. They wanted to see if he could get back to full fitness, regain his top form, and put in a long string of appearances. Otherwise, in my opinion, we would have reached an agreement with FC Bayern, because the interest was very concrete.”
Read continues to be linked with the Munich club this summer as well. Most recently, however, BILD’s soccer editor Christian Falk reported that FC Bayern would first have to sell players and that the right side of the defense is not currently a top priority. Competition looms nonetheless: According to te Kloese, Nottingham Forest could try to secure the services of the Dutch talent before one of Europe’s top clubs gets serious again.
