West Ham United, Liverpool in summer transfer battle for Lutsharel Geertruida
West Ham United have joined the race to sign Feyenoord defender Lutsharel Geertruida as they hope to beat several clubs to the signing, according to AD.
The Dutch media outlet reported [5 June] that the Hammers are joined by Premier League trio Tottenham Hotspur, Newcastle United and Liverpool in attempting to secure the versatile defender’s signature.
It is understood that the 23-year-old was close to a £27million move to RB Leipzig last summer before the transfer move fell through and Geertruida continued his career in the Netherlands.
The defender is set to enter the final 12 months of his current contract, meaning Feyenoord will need to find a deal for the player this summer in order to receive a transfer fee.
West Ham United to sign Lutsharel Geertruida?
The Netherlands international is an extremely versatile player, one that could fit in perfectly with Julen Lopetegui’s plans heading into the 2024/25 campaign.
Despite regularly playing at right-back, Geertruida is also capable of playing anywhere across the backline, making him a very useful asset for any club.
The defence is one of the areas at London Stadium that will need the most improvement over the summer transfer window, hence the early bid to sign Flamengo’s Fabricio Bruno before that deal fell through.
The Dutchman has a wealth of experience on his CV too, having played just short of 200 matches for Feyenoord since 2017 and earned seven caps for the Netherlands on the international stage.
Multiple European teams have been interested in Geertruida in past seasons, so it would be a massive coup if the Irons were able to secure the player’s signature, especially ahead of Liverpool.
With the club’s current centre-back situation, Lopetegui now has Kurt Zouma, Nayef Aguerd and Konstantinos Mavropanos at his disposal, with Angelo Ogbonna’s exit confirmed.
Geertruida would add some much-needed stability to West Ham’s backline ahead of next season, though it might be difficult to persuade him into the London move without any European football.
He has played in the Europa League for the last four seasons with Feyenoord, but the prospect of playing Premier League football should be enough to make the deal happen this summer.
In other West Ham news, Sky Sports journalist Dharmesh Sheth has issued a groundbreaking claim as a Premier League rival club now wants to sign a first-team Hammers player.
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