Dévy Rigaux didn’t take long to begin making sweeping changes at Feyenoord. The former Club Brugge Sporting Director had barely been in post when he began making signings and replacing Robin Van Persie as head coach. The former Arsenal and Manchester United forward was sacked over the summer, with Giovanni van Bronckhorst brought in for his second spell in charge at the club. So far so good under the former Dutch international. Feyenoord sit top of the Eredivisie table after eight games, with six wins and two draws.
On the pitch, Rigaux’s new signings are also paying off. The side lead the league in terms of goals with 27, while at the back they have the best defence with just seven conceded. Rigaux, having seen plenty of Nacho Ferri in the Belgian Pro League, decided he was the perfect replacement for Ayase Ueda. The Spanish striker left Westerlo after scoring 11 goals in 37 games. He already has five in eight for Feyenoord, and the future looks very bright for Ferri given he is still only 22-years-old.
He has certainly been helped by the return of Gjivai Zechiël from his loan spell at Utrecht. Zechiël played 50 games for Utrecht last season, scoring 10 goals and providing 10 assists. He is well on his way to surpassing those numbers for Feyenoord this season, with fie goals and four assists already in just nine games. The 22-year-old, like Ferri, look set to be a real star in the Eredivisie this season. That the side still has the likes of Sem Steijn not able to start games is a testament to the strength in depth Feyenoord have this season.
Another of Rigaux’s signings is Charles Vanhoutte. The former Cercle Brugge and Union St Gilloise midfielder joined from Nice and has been solid in midfield so far alongside Zechiël and Morocco’s Oussama Targhalline. In goal, Tjark Ernst has been decent if not always called upon thanks to the back four in front of him. Keeping hold of Givairo Read, even if it is just until January, has certainly helped in that department. Mika Mármol looks to be a fine piece of business as well, having joined on a free from Las Palmas in the summer.
Rigaux and van Bronckhorst deserve credit for the work that has been done at Feyenoord so far. It looks like they will be challenging in a title race this season.