The Sunderland head coach has several selection headaches to deal with ahead of the visit of Manchester United on Saturday afternoon.
Sunderland host Manchester United on Saturday, and if Regis Le Bris’ side are to keep their dwindling hopes of a European finish alive, then they must earn an against-the-odds result against Michael Carrick’s in-form side.
Unfortunately for the Black Cats boss, he has a plethora of crucial calls to make regarding his starting XI to face United, in defence, midfield and attack.
In attack, strong-statured Brian Brobbey has failed to find the net in his last four outings, and Le Bris could therefore opt for the pace of Wilson Isidor to stretch the legs of the United centre-halves.
Captain Granit Xhaka and the athletic Noah Sadiki will undoubtedly start, but the lacklustre late form of £30m club-record summer signing Habib Diarra raises a question mark within the engine room.
However, the glaring area of concern is in Sunderland’s central defense with Dan Ballard suspended for the United visit, after his red card for a hair pull on Wolves’ Tolu Arokodare in last weekend’s 1-1 draw.
Thankfully for Le Bris, the solution to the Northern Ireland international’s absence is seemingly obvious, if he chooses to employ the man who has been the subject of vast debate among the Sunderland faithful this season.
Le Bris must start Lutsharel Geertruida vs Man Utd
With Ballard suspended, the answer to Le Bris’ subsequent selection headache at centre-back is to return RB Leipzig loanee Lutsharel Geertruida to the Sunderland starting XI.
Dutch international Geertruida has made just 14 starts for the Black Cats this season after arriving on a season-long from the Bundesliga giants, with the 25-year-old curiously failing to nail down a consistent run of starts or position under Le Bris this term.
Despite Le Bris outlining that there are no performance-related clauses in the loan deal with Leipzig which would trigger Sunderland’s option to permanently sign the versatile talent for an estimated £17m fee, Geertruida has been an unused substitute in Sunderland’s last four games.
The former Feyenoord star’s latest outing for the Black Cats came in their 1-0 victory over bitter rivals Newcastle United in the Tyne-Wear derby, in which he started at right-back and performed admirably with ten defensive contributions.
By Le Bris’ own admission, Geertruida is an amply ‘versatile’ player, capable of operating well both as a full-back, in the centre of defence, or in midfield as he has done at times throughout the campaign.
Looking ahead to the visit of United, although full-back Nordi Mukiele also adaptable enough to play at centre-back, it would be a shame for Le Bris to shift him inside and nullify his attacking abilities which have been evident with his two goals in four outings.
As well as Mukiele and Geertruida, another option in the absence of Ballard is to return Sunderland fan-favourite Luke O’Nien to central defence, but serious question marks remain over his Premier League credentials following his shaky performances against Newcastle and Aston Villa.
As a result, the obvious option for Le Bris is to utilise the Leipzig loanee, who has rarely put a foot wrong when given a rarer-than-expected outing for Sunderland this term, on Saturday to contend with the Red Devils’ in-form attack.
Le Bris comments on Geertruida's future at Sunderland
Not only is the United visit fast approaching, the summer transfer window is just nine weeks away, leaving Sunderland’s transfer team with an imperative decision to make in regards to their option to sign Geertruida permanently beyond this season’s loan.
When discussing the decision over the Dutchman ahead of United, as quoted by the Sunderland Echo, Le Bris said: “The main idea is that we want to win this game (against Manchester United).
"If it's a 50-50, maybe 1% will influence the decision but in this case I don't think it would be the idea. Lutsha is a player of Sunderland and we'll see at the end of the season if we go further or not. He's 100% with us,
“He's versatile, so it's really useful for the manager, for the coaching staff, for the team because when we need someone ready to play as a midfielder, left-side centre-back, right-back, he can manage different positions and he did well.
“At the same time, the competition in a specific position is often high, so for him, it's a big advantage on one side and probably sometimes a bit difficult to manage because you don't play every game, but he's so useful for the squad, so he will be an option for us."
Although beneficial on paper, Geertuida’s versatility appears to have worked against him when it comes to starts in the red-and-white stripes, but the United clash offers the ideal opportunity for him to showcase why he should have been afforded more minutes throughout his loan stint.