Lutsharel Geertruida: Playing style, key strengths and what he'll bring to the Sunderland squad

Lutsharel Geertruida looks set to become Sunderland's thirteenth summer signing after the club agreed a deal with RB Leipzig.

The former Feyenoord defender and Netherlands international is set to join on an initial season-long loan deal, with the option to make it permanent next summer. The fee if Sunderland take up that option is believed to be in the region of €20 million. Follow our live deadline day blog here: Here, we run you through everything you need to now about Geertruida and what he will bring to the Sunderland squad...

What is Lutsharel Geertruida's strongest position?

Geertruida shares a lot of similarities with Nordi Mukiele in that he has at some stage in his career played just about every single defensive position. Primarily he is a right back, but he is also very comfortable and has played a lot of minutes at centre back. He could also play as a wing back or on the right of a back three, and has on rare occasion played at left back. He also experience playing in central midfield, which could be useful to the Black Cats across the course of a long campaign where injury and suspension absences are a certainty.

In Sunderland's preferred 4-3-3 shape, expect him to compete for minutes primarily at right back or centre back. While he is primarily a right-sided defender, he could certainly line up alongside Dan Ballard or Nordi Mukiele at the heart of defence. As we will now look at more closely, his poise in possession would add something different in that position as Luke O'Nien has done so well over a period of time.

What are Geertruida's key strengths?

As you would expect, Geertruida is defensively strong. According to wyscout, he ranked 14th in the Bundesliga for recoveries (any action that saw his team regain possession from the opposition) and 12th for counterpressing recoveries. If we take a closer look at his performance courtesy of stats website Fbref, we see is strength in tackling and duels more closely. He ranked in the top 14% of full backs across the top five leagues last season for tackles in his defensive third, and the top 22% for tackles won per 90.

Interestingly, he was in the top 1% for percentage of aerial duels won per 90 minutes. Régis Le Bris has spoken previously about wanting to add more height and aerial dominance to his squad in order to cope with the demands of the Premier League, something which Mukiele ranked very highly on. Geertruida very much continues that trend in the final stages of the window.

For a defender, Geertruida is very calm in possession and rarely gives the ball away. He ranked in the top 1% of full backs in Europe's big five leagues for long passes completed last season, and the top 9% for progressive passing distance. He also ranked in the top 5% for touches in the middle third, something which underlines his ability to retain possession and contribute to build up play. As we have seen often over the years with Trai Hime, Geertruida has the skillset and ability to drift infield to become an extra midfielder in possession.

Watching Geertruida's clips on wyscout show a player who is quick across the ground and can also make an impact when joining attacks, with fbref ranking him in the top 12% of full backs for passes into the final third last season. An Eredivisie winner, Geetruida also has captaincy experience with Feyenoord. Sunderland are signing another mature player who can bring leadership to the dressing room.

What does this mean for Sunderland's defensive options and does this signal the end of the Jhon Lucumí pursuit?

In short, probably. Lucumí has been a longstanding target for the Black Cats this summer but Bologna have dug their heels in, adamant that they can't afford to let another key player go having already lost so many this summer. Lucumí's agent going public in urging the Serie A club to let him depart has had no impact as of yet, with the Italian club struggling in their attempts to recruit further in the position. The Colombia international was not expected to play over the weekend due to injury but was needed as a second-half substitute against Como, playing well and helping to secure the 1-0 win. He drew praise from his head coach afterwards.

You can never say never and Sunderland rate Lucumí very highly, but the Geertruida move is an admission that the transfer is highly unlikely. With Luke O'Nien now closing in on a return to fitness, the path should now be clear for Jenson Seelt to go out on loan. Seelt has had an excellent few months since returning from the summer break, but needs regular football after so long on the sidelines. Leo Hjelde is another defender who could now go out on loan before the deadline closes.

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