Unai Emery has until 11pm on Friday night to ensure that his Aston Villa squad is ready for a season in which they will compete in the Champions League alongside their domestic efforts.
It has been a busy summer at Villa Park, with seven new signings countered by the departures by key figures in Douglas Luiz and Moussa Diaby.
Two of those new arrivals have left on loan, with Lewis Dobbin spending the season at West Brom and Samuel Iling-Junior heading to Bologna for the year.
That means Unai Emery only has five new players to call on currently but he is keen to add one or two more before Friday’s transfer deadline.
A right-sided defender looks to be the priority, whilst the club are also still in the market for a forward to replace Diaby.
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Aston Villa told deal for Lutsharel Geertuida will not be easy
The search for a versatile right-sided defender who can player either as a centre-back or right-back has seen Villa identity Feyenoord’s Lutsharel Geertruida as their prime target.
The injury sustained by Matty Cash in the 2-0 defeat against Arsenal has exacerbated the issue and means Emery will be desperate to get a deal for Geertruida over the line.
It won’t be easy for Villa, though, as transfer expert Fabrizio Romano has told Give Me Sport: “I think for Villa there are still some possibilities.
“Geertruida remains a player that they really appreciate, but he is still expensive.
“For Feyenoord, he is a crucial player so it is not going to be an easy negotiation for Aston Villa.
“But they are still in the market for that position.”
Aston Villa must pay what Feyenoord want for Geertruida
With so little time left in the transfer window, it is likely to take a fee of around £30 million for Feyenoord to consider selling Geertruida to Villa.
However, that may just be a figure Villa have to accept as their need for Geertruida is worth spending that kind of fee.
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Currently Villa have Pau Torres, Ezri Konsa, Tyrone Mings and Diego Carlos as senior centre-backs, but Mings is still recovering from the ACL injury that kept him out from the first day of last season and Carlos could still be sold.
At right-back, Emery has just the injured Cash and 18-year-old Kosta Nedeljkovic, so the need for a player who can cover both positions with no drop off in performance has become urgent.
Geertruida is that player and Villa cannot afford to miss out on the 24-year-old as they look to compete on all fronts this season.
