Geertruida joined Sunderland on a season-long loan from German club RB Leipzig in the summer, with the terms of the arrangement including a clause that enables the Black Cats to complete a permanent transfer for around £18.5m at the end of the season.
The Netherlands international has proved a valuable squad member since moving to Wearside, and was the subject of strong transfer interest from Liverpool towards the end of the January window.
However, he has only started 14 league matches and does not feature in Le Bris’ strongest possible XI, as underlined by his status as an unused substitute in last weekend’s win over Tottenham.
Sunderland’s recruitment team will have to decide whether signing Geertruida on a permanent basis makes sense, or whether it might be better to use the money elsewhere as they look to strengthen the squad in the summer.
Similarly, Geertruida will have to decide whether he wants to remain on Wearside given his failure to establish himself as a regular starter or look to move elsewhere in an attempt to increase his chances of playing more football next season.
For now, the situation remains unclear, with Le Bris insisting he and the rest of the Sunderland hierarchy are happy to shelve a decision until the end of the current campaign.
“It’s still a bit early to be making that decision,” said the Black Cats boss, who has also avoided making a firm commitment over Bertrand Traore’s future, with the winger having signed an initial one-year deal when he left Ajax in the summer, with Sunderland holding an option for a 12-month extension.
“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.”
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Geertruida started the Tyne-Wear derby win over Newcastle prior to the international break, playing at right-back at St James’ Park, but found himself shuffled back onto the sidelines last weekend when Nordi Mukiele returned to the starting XI.
Le Bris could have accommodated Mukiele’s return by moving Geertruida to centre-half, but instead opted to stick with Luke O’Nien alongside Omar Alderete, meaning Geertruida had to drop down to the bench.
“It’s complex,” he said, when asked to explain his thinking behind last weekend’s defensive selection. “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.”
O’Nien’s performances in the last couple of months have seen him move from a fringe figure within the squad to a key member of Le Bris’ preferred defensive unit. Tomorrow, at Villa Park, there is a good chance O’Nien will retain his place in the starting side even though a fit-again Dan Ballard is set to return to the squad.
Chris Rigg has had a similarly successful spell on the right of midfield, to the extent where he also now appears to have nailed down a starting berth in the continued absence of the injured Bertrand Traore.
From a position where Sunderland’s squad depth was being questioned in the face of a number of injury absences, Le Bris is now much happier with the resources at his disposal, even if that means having to make some difficult selection decisions.
“It’s part of my job,” he 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.”