Sunderland loanee Lutsharel Geertruida has made a strong contribution through the first half of the season

Régis Le Bris has praised Sunderland loanee Lutsharel Geertruida and hinted that the club could consider looking to make his loan move permanent in the January transfer window.

Geertruida joined from RB Leipzig on deadline day and while he has not always been a regular starter since, he has made important contributions in a number of games and different positions. His importance to the squad and general quality was underlined by an excellent performance at Brighton, when AFCON absences led to him deputising in central midfield.

Le Bris was coy when asked if the club could activate their option-to-buy clause next month, as they did last January when signing Wilson Isidor permanently following a successful first few months at the club. However, he made clear his admiration for the Netherlands international.

“I'm not sure it's my job exactly, but as a manager I like Lucha as a person and a footballer,” Le Bris said.

“I like his versatility. Like Trai [Hume], we have two or three players like that. Enzo [Le Fee] is more or less this kind of player as well.

“They have the ability to play in different positions and they connect really quickly because they've got a good personality to start because they can play in different positions. They have the ability to adapt really quickly to different contexts. I think it's really important for a manager. So we'll see.”

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What Régis Le Bris said about Lutsharel Geertruida after impressive Brighton performance

“Lutsha can play everywhere in the backline and he can play as a midfielder too,” Le Bris said.

“It’s also a good option. I don’t know what his [Gerrtruida] best position is – and I’m not sure that he knows anymore either. I think if you asked him, he would say that he would like to play as a right-back or as the right centre-back in a back four. But every new experience shows that he can play in lots of different positions and do really well there. That’s really important for a manager, and for the team and the squad, maybe even for his national team too. He is ready to go in different scenarios, different positions and different systems. He is a very important player for us.”

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