‘Feyenoord wanted €30 million or more for Read. I assume that now, for Zechiël…’
If Lille OSC really want to land Gjivai Zechiël, they will have to dig deep. That is the expectation of club watcher Mikos Gouka, who said as much on Voetbalpraat on ESPN.
"I can't imagine him going to Lille, but they have been back in touch," Gouka says in an update on the situation. "At an earlier stage it was about 10 million. But Feyenoord wanted 30 million or more for Read, so I assume they now want that for Zechiël as well, of course."
His remark draws laughter and surprise from Kenneth Perez and Vincent Schildkamp. "That escalated quickly! From 10 to 30 million," says Schildkamp. "One match against Cambuur!" Perez adds.
Still, Gouka does have reasons for that view, with Zechiël's situation at Feyenoord changing quickly. "They are in talks over a new contract, with interest from other clubs naturally also being interesting. That interest is genuinely there as well. When he wanted to go to Lille for 10 million, Zechiël was on the bench and it was being said that he would get a chance."
"Now we are a few weeks further on and it is about the Netherlands national team, he has scored three goals, he is the key player at Feyenoord... It is no punishment for him to go. But if I were him, I would think: I'll put together a good season now and then something other than the French league will come along."
Perez, though, believes Feyenoord should let the midfielder leave straight away if a bid of €15 million comes in. Zechiël is still under contract until mid-2028, but if he does not extend, Perez believes he certainly will not be worth more than that next summer. He also sees no guarantee whatsoever that Zechiël can maintain his current form throughout the season.
Meanwhile, Lille are in a strong position because of the top transfer of Ayoub Bouaddi to Manchester City. The eighteen-year-old talent will earn the French club a fixed fee of €95 million, which presumably means they can go a long way for Zechiël. Whether Lille actually intend to do that remains to be seen. Voetbal International had already indicated that it will in any case be "a difficult transfer".
