As a Sunderland fan, I have always tried to avoid being overly critical of our players, or writing them off. There are some obvious exceptions, players who never even tried to look like they understood what it meant to wear the badge or play for this club – yes, Jack Rodwell and Will Grigg, I’m looking at you.
Over the years, there have been enough redemption arcs to show that a player who may initially struggle can really turn things around.
So what I am about to write doesn’t come naturally to me,
but Sunday’s thoroughly depressing and disappointing performance against Port Vale finally crystallised something that has been troubling me since AFCON, and particularly since injury robbed the Black Cats of the midfield presence of Granit Xhaka.
For many fans, including me, the loss of Noah Sadiki and Habib Diarra to AFCON provided the perfect opportunity for Lutsharel Geertruida to demonstrate the abilities that had persuaded the club to bring him in on loan from RB Leipzig. In the absence of the energetic Africans, when he played alongside Xhaka, he was steady if not spectacular, without ever overly impressing.
When the AFCON contingent returned, and injury struck our talismanic team captain, the assumption from many was that the versatile Dutchman would be the natural choice to occupy Xhaka’s berth at the base of midfield.
Instead, Régis Le Bris opted to deploy Noah Sadiki as Xhaka’s replacement, and Geertruida was left warming the bench. In the continued absence of Xhaka, disappointing performances against the likes of West Ham and Fulham left many fans frustrated that the apparently obvious deputy for Xhaka was not utilised. This was magnified when the club fought off interest from Liverpool in the transfer window to keep Geertruida in the squad.
An injury to Nordi Mukiele and an FA Cup suspension for Trai Hume have seen the Dutch international given starts against Bournemouth, Leeds, and Port Vale, in his more natural defensive position.
Whether playing alongside Xhaka in midfield or in defence, it’s not that Geertruida has done anything wrong. It is more that for large parts of those games he has simply been anonymous. Some players do the unseen work, whose contributions can often be overlooked and unappreciated, but that isn’t the case with Geertruida – he has just struggled to impact any of the games he has started. The unwillingness of Le Bris to select him to anchor Sunderland’s midfield looks ever more understandable.
When the Black Cats had possession against the Valiants, Geertruida stepped into midfield in the same manner that Trai Hume does, with Dan Ballard moving across to cover the right flank. Unlike Hume, he had little influence on Sunderland’s attempts to progress the ball up the pitch. Time and time again in the second half, he got himself into a position to deliver a dangerous cross from near the corner flag, only to opt to play the ball short to Rigg or Diarra.
Geertruida was far from the only Sunderland player to fail to live up to expectations on Sunday, but he lacks the credit in the bank that others have to mitigate a poor performance.
With nine games left, and players returning from injury or suspension, it is difficult to see a scenario where Geertruida will have the opportunity to persuade the club’s decision makers to sanction a permanent deal in the summer. A parting of the ways in May appears inevitable.
