- Newcastle United should move for Lutsharel Geertuida
- Former Sunderland man available as Leipzig look to sell
- How he could suffice multiple needs for the Magpies
Lutsharel Geertruida spent last season on loan at Newcastle United’s bitter rivals, Sunderland and put in some very solid performances throughout his spell. But the Black Cats have now decided against activating the £20m buy option attached to the deal.
The Dutch defender will return to his parent club, RB Leipzig, this summer, but the German side are still looking to offload him. There are a plethora of clubs across Europe interested in his services.
The Magpies are not named as one of the clubs interested, but could Geertruida’s versatile nature actually be a perfect addition to Eddie Howe’s squad, despite his previous affiliation with the Mackems?
Newcastle should sign Geertruida
Geertruida can play at right-back, centre-back or even in midfield – all of which are positions Newcastle could be looking to re-decorate this summer. In today’s market, that sort of fee for that sort of utility man with as much quality as Geertruida has almost feels like a no-brainer.
Interestingly, the reason Sunderland have decided against activating the clause in his loan agreement is that they believe they can get a deal done for less money that the agreed fee. That feels like quite a risk, especially given the plethora of interest from other clubs across Europe.
Newcastle have already lost Kieran Trippier and may still lose Tino Livramento before the summer is over. Both Dan Burn and Fabian Schär are ageing figures and will likely need to be replaced in the next couple of years anyway.
There is also a strong possibility of a midfield revamp, given that Sandro Tonali is linked with a move away and the future of Joe Willock is uncertain.
So why not bolster all of those positions with just one signing?
The Sunderland connection
Well, perhaps the only barrier to entry is the previous Sunderland connection.
It may be more a case of the player himself not wanting to betray that connection rather than anything to do with Newcastle not being able to facilitate a deal.
But the Black Cats’ decision not to make the deal permanent immediately to secure his services permanently came as quite a shock to the footballing world given his performances last season.
Whilst the fact that he played for the Magpies’ arch-enemies isn’t exactly endearing, Geerturida does mark a possible opportunity to capitalise on the Mackems’ mistake in letting him go for such an affordable price.
It likely wouldn’t be worth getting into a drawn-out bidding war for the Dutchman’s services, but if Newcastle can get a deal in the works quickly, using the fact that Geertruida knows the area and league already as a bargaining chip, it could be worth at least floating the idea of a deal for what would be a very astute signing.
