Sunderland and Lutsharel Geertruida have a big decision to make this summer
Régis Le Bris says he is really happy with Lutsharel Geertruida's application behind the scenes after the defender dropped out of the starting XI against Spurs last weekend.
The return of Nordi Mukiele and Reinildo from injury saw Geertruida and Trai Hume drop to the bench and though the RB Leipzig loanee has played a lot of minutes this season, he has struggled to maintain a regular spot on the starting XI.
Le Bris's tough selection call underlined the dilemma all parties face this summer when deciding whether to make his loan switch permanent. Geertruida has been a key player in the squad but not an automatic starter when Le Bris has had all of his defensive players available.
“It’s still a bit early to be making that decision," Le Bris said.
"We are happy with Lutsha, he is doing well. Sometimes the performance comes from tough moments and his behaviour when he has not been playing as much as he would really want has been really positive. But in terms of the future, I don’t know. It’s too early to say what’s going to happen with something like that.”
RLB opens up on picking Luke O’Nien ahead of Lutsharel Geertruida at centre back
While Le Bris has hinted that he would be keen to keep Geertruida in his squad moving into next season, the club could face an uphill battle to convince the defender his career is best served on Wearside for the long run.
Le Bris added that it was a difficult decision to go with Luke O'Nien at centre back against Spurs, with Mukiele's superb form at both ends of the pitch demanding his inclusion at right back.
“It’s part of my job," Le Bris said.
"I won’t say it’s tough, it’s about being honest and explaining the way we are working together. Sometimes, they don’t like it, which is acceptable, but if you are honest direct and clear, you can understand the way we are working together. Probably today, we have 14 or 15 starters, which is really good and explains the performance of the team. But we can only ever start with 11, I can’t select 12, it’s not possible. They know the rules, but they also have to manage their own career and it’s a balance."
“It's complex," Le Bris added of his decision to go with O'Nien ahead of Geertruida.
"Luke is a great team-mate to start with, his culture and his connection with the squad is really important. He’s the club captain so it was natural for me to play him again in his position, to keep the consistency. For the right-back position, it’s fair to say that Nordi has been impressive this season and is a starter. It was a 51-49 decision. It’s always like that, it’s never black and white, it’s grey. It’s complex to explain but as a coaching staff and a manager, finally I thought it was the right decision."
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