Feyenoord’s young Mexican is immensely gifted but a record transfer now might do more harm than good
How would football media survive without plucking out new players to be tossed about in the whirlwind of transfer rumours? With the football calendar not yet crammed with matches from 8 am to midnight 365 days a year, frenzied speculation over who might be headed where has become a business model for pundits and hacks around the world. The latest starlet to enter the rumour vortex is Feyenoord’s Mexican striker Santiago Giménez, who just last November was left out of Mexico’s World Cup squad and is now being touted as the long-term successor to Harry Kane at Tottenham or Karim Benzema at Real Madrid.
It’s fair to say that Giménez has become one of Rotterdam’s best-loved residents in the fifteen months since his arrival from Cruz Azul for a €6 million fee. Mexican flags are now a regular presence on matchdays at De Kuip, and every Giménez goal is greeted by a booming, drawn-out chant of the striker’s name, with fingers jabbed towards the sky in imitation of Giménez’ goal celebration. That affection is all the more remarkable for the fact that Giménez wasn’t even a regular starter until this calendar year, only making the starting XI five times before 25 January in all competitions, with the Brazilian Danilo typically preferred. Indeed, Giménez scored 13 of his 15 goals in the Eredivisie-winning 2022/23 campaign after the year turned, showcasing his development. That growth has carried on into this season; Giménez has struck 13 times in Feyenoord’s first 12 league matches, including a hat-trick away to arch-rivals Ajax which was spread out over three days after that match was suspended following hooligan behaviour by the home fans.
Giménez’ contribution to the Feyenoord team goes beyond his goal-scoring numbers. Manager Arne Slot has shaped Feyenoord’s attack into a complex organism this season, with midfielders Quinten Timber and Calvin Stengs the arteries carrying the ball into advanced positions and the wingers the bulging veins bursting into the opposition defence. Giménez is the muscled front limb of this organism, hacking its way through the dense vegetation of the opponent’s back-line to unveil a clearing in front of goal. This is aided by Giménez’ excellent spatial awareness; watching him closely during last Sunday’s win over AZ Alkmaar, I noticed how Giménez spent much of his time scanning over the shoulders of AZ’s centre-backs, surveying the pitch for the right gap to jerk into. On Sunday, Giménez’ understanding of what was happening around him on the pitch, combined with his strength, produced a pair of half-chances out of very little: particularly impressive was his backheel into the path of the onrushing Alireza Jahanbakhsh while he was being hugged to death from behind by AZ’s Bruno Martins Indi. Today’s best strikers are almost as good at dovetailing with their attacking partners as they are at finishing, a skill which Giménez possesses in abundance.
It’s clear that Giménez is destined to play in a bigger league than the Eredivisie, and judging from the development he’s shown in his time at Feyenoord, there’s no reason to believe he can’t succeed at one of Europe’s élite clubs. Speculation has abounded in recent weeks that Giménez might leave the Netherlands as soon as January, with transfer-rumour celebrity Fabrizio Romano hinting that Tottenham are preparing a bid. Meanwhile, Mexican national team coach Jaime Lozano encouraged Giménez to ‘consider all options’ to depart in the winter window in public comments made earlier this week. But with Feyenoord reportedly quoting interested clubs a €100 million transfer sum, which would make Giménez the fourth-most expensive striker in football history, it’s fair to ask whether Giménez, who is only 22, is ready to carry the baggage of expectation attached to such an exorbitant sum.
The Brazilian winger Antony, who transferred from Ajax to Manchester United for an Eredivisie-record €95 million in August 2022, might serve as a cautionary tale. Antony had captivated Dutch football fans in his two seasons at Ajax, helping the Amsterdam club win the Eredivisie in both campaigns, before forcing a transfer to Old Trafford aged 22. Yet the Brazilian has failed to impress in England. Though injuries and off-field problems have hindered him, Antony has looked short of confidence in his appearances thus far this season, and has lost his place in Brazil’s national team setup. For Giménez, the burden of proving his value for money might be even greater if he arrived at a club like Tottenham, where the comparisons with Harry Kane would be inescapable. Instead of having the time to bed in like he did at Feyenoord, Giménez would be expected to perform from his first minute on the pitch, with the stick of being labelled a ‘flop’ the only alternative.
For Giménez and for interested clubs, a better option would be to wait until the 2024 offseason before moving on to the porous heights of Europe’s top clubs. A summer transfer would be significantly cheaper, likely in the €40-50 million range, and would give Giménez the opportunity to settle and learn a new playing style before being asked to perform. A winter transfer is also far from being Feyenoord’s first choice, especially if the Rotterdammers survive their Champions League group and qualify for the knockout stages. Though Feyenoord did sign the Japanese forward Ayase Ueda from Cercle Brugge in the summer as a long-term replacement, losing Giménez would be a huge blow in Feyenoord’s bid to win a second straight Eredivisie title and progress deep in Europe. For Giménez, too, there’s still enough to learn- and achieve- in the forgiving environment of De Kuip. The travelling Feyenoord fans might have sung his name in unison after Giménez missed a Panenka penalty attempt in a recent match away to RKC Waalwijk, but those sorts of embarrassing mishaps would be viewed rather more critically at a Spurs or Real Madrid. Another six months of growth- and perhaps another trophy in the cabinet- would serve Giménez well before a dazzling price tag is attached to his name.
Inthehalfspace 