Aston Villa, Everton and Crystal Palace are all eyeing a move for one Sunderland star who has been among their best players this season, according to a new report.
Sunderland make summer plans after wonderful Premier League campaign
Brian Brobbey's 90th-minute winner at St James' Park on Sunday will live long in the memory on Wearside.
brian-brobbey-sunderland
The big Dutchman bundled home from close range to complete a comeback from a goal down, sending the travelling support into delirium and handing Sunderland a league double over Newcastle United — their first derby triumph at St James' Park in over a decade, and the eleventh consecutive league game against their rivals without defeat.
It encapsulated everything about what has been a remarkable first season back in the Premier League.
Sunderland arrived in the top flight nine years after their last visit, laden with new faces and new money — over £100m invested in the summer, with the likes of Granit Xhaka and Habib Diarra headlining an ambitious overhaul.
Most observers predicted a tough struggle at the bottom, a survival fight decided on the final day.
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He didn't hold back...
Instead, Régis Le Bris has constructed a genuinely competitive side, sitting near the top half and able to beat the neighbours with a last-gasp winner in front of their own fans.
Survival was never really in doubt, the progress has been real, and with seven league games left to play, the Black Cats are outside contenders for a European place.
The summer question is how they build on it — and it is beginning to look as if protecting some of their best assets will be a challenge in its own right.
Sunderland face Lutsharel Geertruida threat as rivals queue up
Indeed, TEAMtalk reveal that Sunderland face a genuine battle to hold on to Lutsharel Geertruida, the Dutch defender who has impressed across several positions since arriving on a season-long loan from RB Leipzig last summer.
Sunderland's Lutsharel Geertruida
The 'standout' 25-year-old has played at right-back, centre-back and in a holding midfield role, his ability to operate effectively in each making him one of the most versatile and valuable members of Le Bris's squad.
His adaptation to Premier League football has been seamless, and the clubs who have noticed are not small ones.
Liverpool, who held talks over a deal in January, are still in the mix, but they're not alone.
Aston Villa, Everton, Tottenham and Crystal Palace are also understood to be eyeing Geertruida, with European interest adding further competition.
The transfer landscape around him is becoming increasingly crowded.
Sunderland hold the option to make his loan permanent for a reported fee of around £20m — a figure that, for a player of his calibre and flexibility, looks very reasonable at today's market rates.
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Whether they exercise it is another matter, as the final decision ultimately rests as much with the player as with the clubs.
Le Bris himself acknowledged the complexity of Geertruida's situation when speaking about it earlier in the season, praising his versatility while accepting that a player of his ambition, with the World Cup ahead of him this summer, naturally wants a clear pathway to regular starting football.
His versatility, the manager noted, is both his greatest strength and a complicating factor — valuable to the team but sometimes difficult to reconcile with the drive to own a single position.
For now, Geertruida apparently remains happy on Wearside.
His representatives, however, are aware of the growing queue forming outside the door.
Sunderland will likely do everything to keep him, but the clubs lined up against them will make that very difficult.
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The Black Cats completed the double over their rivals in late fashion.