Aston Villa are reportedly set to push for the signing of Feyenoord defender Lutsharel Geertruida ahead of the transfer deadline this week.
The 24-year-old has been paired with a move to join us already this summer, as Unai Emery potentially looks to bolster his defensive options ahead of a long season.
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However, according to The Express and Star, Villa are being tipped to push for the Dutch international this week, after Matty Cash suffered a hamstring injury against Arsenal last weekend and is expected to be ruled out for around a month. Further, the report suggests that our defensive transfer target could be worth in the region of £30m.
Geertruida came through the youth ranks at Feyenoord and has since gone on to make 202 appearances at senior level, scoring 24 goals and providing 11 assists to go with his defensive work.
Further, he has 11 caps for the Netherlands to his name, as he has established himself as a top player for both club and country.
Aside from his physicality, athleticism, reading of the game and defensive qualities, he also boasts composure and technical ability in possession, while he has the versatility to play either as a centre-half or right-back, and can operate as a defensive midfielder if needed too.
In turn, he ticks a lot of important boxes for Emery, and so it’s easy to see why Villa might be interested, but time will tell if we can get a deal over the line before the deadline on Friday night.
It seems a bit short-sighted to suggest that Cash’s injury has now spurred Villa into action though in truth, as ultimately Emery has Kosta Nedeljkovic at his disposal to fill in at right-back during his relatively short absence given we have an upcoming international break too, while Ezri Konsa and Diego Carlos give him options on the right side of our centre-half pairing.
With that in mind, should we move for Geertruida, it will surely be seen more as a long-term upgrade on one of our current options, perhaps with either Carlos or Cash being moved on in the future, with both being linked with an exit earlier this summer.
It promises to be an intriguing final few days of the window in terms of seeing what business Villa opt to do, but Geertruida is seemingly one to watch, and if Emery believes that the Dutchman can improve us, and it perhaps paves the way for an exit to continue to balance our books and squad, it’s hoped we can get those deals done.
