Unai Emery has the opportunity to sign a player who would be an upgrade on current options in two different positions at Aston Villa in the form of Lutsharel Geertruida.
Aston Villa are keen to sign Lutsharel Geertruida from Feyenoord this summer, but a deal is only likely to happen if the club offload a defender.
That is anticipated to be Diego Carlos, with the 31-year-old signed by Steven Gerrard unlikely to have a future under Unai Emery.
Fulham are reportedly pushing for Carlos’ signature, but a £20 million bid lodged by the Cottagers for Joachim Andersen on Saturday shows the Villa man is not their only option at the centre of the defence.
- READ MORE: Aston Villa could be rocked with Lutsharel Geertruida transfer twist after rival £20m bid
With Andersen expected to command a far larger fee, Fulham are now said to be ‘close’ to signing Carlos which paves the way for Villa to pursue Geertruida’s signature more intently.
Aston Villa target Lutsharel Geertruida valued at £26m by Feyenoord
Villa paid £26 million to sign Carlos from Sevilla two summers ago and that is reported by Dutch outlet AD to be the same figure it is likely to take to convince Feyenoord to sell Geertruida this summer.
The fee Fulham would pay if they are to complete the signing of Carlos is not yet known but the Brazilian’s departure would not only provide some funds towards the deal but also free up a centre-back spot at Villa.
Villa are not alone in their interest for Geertruida, with Arne Slot keen for a reunion having now taken over as Liverpool boss.
- READ MORE: What Lutsharel Geertruida just did will have Unai Emery desperate for Aston Villa to sign him
However, the Reds have seemingly cooled their interest, paving the way for Emery to get his man should Carlos’ exit go through.
Geertuida an upgrade on Carlos and Matty Cash at Aston Villa
One of the things that makes Geertruida such an attractive option for Emery is his ability to play multiple positions.
The 24-year-old can play as a centre-back, right-back, left-back and even as a centre midfielder.
Geertruida is primarily either a centre-back or right-back, though, and Villa could kill two birds with one stone with his signing as he is an upgrade on both Carlos and Matty Cash in their respective positions.
Carlos has been inconsistent since arriving at Villa and his rash nature – as evidenced by his sending off against RB Leipzig in pre-season – means that Emery does not trust him.
Cash has been Villa’s right-back for four years but struggled at the back-end of last season and has seen 18-year-old Kosta Nedeljkovic potentially bypass him for the starting spot this pre-season.
Geertruida has played 98 games for Feyenoord at centre-back and 147 at right-back so has a lot of experience in both roles and his ‘sublime tactical nous’, according to scout Antonio Mango, allows him to perform effectively in a number of positions.
13 goal contributions in the Eredivisie last season are testament to this and his ability to shift between a centre-back and right-back in a similar way to Ezri Konsa last season could see Emery sanction the £26 million deal.
