Lutsharel Geertruida has impressed so far this season, proving himself to be a talented, versatile and useful footballer.
He’s played in thirteen games for us, starting six of them and coming off of the bench in seven. In fact, he’s only been an unused substitute in one game — the Wear-Tyne derby. This highlights his importance and although he’s yet to score or contribute with a direct assist, it takes nothing away from the good performances he’s been consistently delivering.
An excellent, Nedum Onuoha-like
solo run against Nottingham Forest almost doubled our lead, and he delivered a great ball for Brian Brobbey at Stamford Bridge, who then assisted Chemsdine Talbi for the winner against Chelsea.
So, despite not recording any goal involvements, we know that he’s participated to great effect and it’s brilliant to have a player like this in the squad.
He performs at a high level in various different positions and this was epitomised by Régis Le Bris talking about Geertruida’s practicality in an interview, stating that even he doesn’t know his best position (in a positive way, of course).
So far this season, Geertruida has mainly played as the left centre half in a five back, but stepped up to the plate against Brighton to replace Noah Sadiki. In that defensive midfield position, he didn’t look out of place and he can also play at right back, playing most of his football at Leipzig and Feyenoord in that position.
Alongside his footballing capabilities, Geertruida seems to have really bought into the club.
Whenever we score, he’s in amongst the celebrations, shouting out to the crowd and pumping his fists. I love to see this from players and it’s striking given that he’s only on loan.
He also appears to have a great connection with the rest of the squad — as seen through the club’s YouTube and Instagram — as well as those hilarious “look behind the curtain” Snapchat videos posted by Habib Diarra. The fans have also started to reciprocate this feeling, realising his talent and ability to turn his hand to most challenges.
I think the club would be daft not to get Geertruida to put pen to paper during the upcoming window. After all, why sit on our hands and wait till the summer? He could attract other clubs’ attention and we might miss our chance.
It’s been reported that a fee of £18 million was agreed as part of the terms of the loan, which seems a good price for a twenty five-year-old. We would also do well to remember that he’s regularly being called up to the Dutch national team alongside teammate Robin Roefs.
This not only shows how highly he’s thought of in the Netherlands, but also how brilliant our defence has been this season. How many times have you seen a newly-promoted team boast a Dutch international who only makes the bench? Not too much of a worry for Geertruida, as he should find himself picking up more minutes in the absence of Sadiki.
What are your thoughts? Should we sign Geertruida permanently or would you be OK with the Dutchman heading back to Germany in June?
