Sunderland completed their first summer signing with free agent Thomas Meunier, which has seemingly put an end to the potential of last season’s RB Leipzig loanee Lutsharel Geertruida returning permanently.
Sunderland boss Regis Le Bris has lifted the lid on why the Black Cats have opted to sign free agent Thomas Meunier this summer ahead of former RB Leipzig loanee Lutsharel Geertruida.
Last week, the Black Cats completed their first summer transfer window signing with the Belgian defender, who penned a two-year stay at the Stadium of Light following his exit from Lille.
The arrival of the experienced defender has seemingly put an end to the transfer saga surrounding last season’s loanee Geertruida, with Sunderland dodging their £20m option to sign the versatile talent from Leipzig, and securing the services of free agent Meunier instead.
On the surface, Sunderland signed Meunier instead of Geertruida seemingly to save the £20m figure to reinvest these funds into other areas of Le Bris’ squad, but now the Black Cats boss has gone in depth as to why the club’s hierarchy have made the bold transfer play.
Regis Le Bris Explains Why Sunderland Signed Meunier Over Geertruida
The debate still rages on amongst Sunderland supporters as to whether the club have made a mistake in choosing not to sign last season’s RB Leipzig loanee permanently this summer.
Particularly towards the end of last season in the decisive wins against Everton and Chelsea, Geertruida showed his defensive qualities to full effect, playing a pivotal role in Sunderland getting over the line into Europa League qualification.
However, there in lies the catalyst as to why Sunderland have decided against his permanent signing, considering that it took him towards the end of the season to nail down a consistent starting role under Le Bris, and that £20m is a clearly substantial fee for a player - however talented and capable - who is not a guaranteed starter.
Clearly, 34-year-old Meunier may likely not be a guaranteed starter week-in week-out next season considering he began only 21 Ligue 1 games for Lille last term, but still made a phenomenal impact when called upon.
With the Meunier vs Geertruida Sunderland debate, the club have saved around £20m and gotten the same profile of player capable in multiple key defensive positions, but Le Bris interestingly mentioned that the club considered the “full package”.
As quoted by the Sunderland Echo, Le Bris said: "We'll have more games this season, first of all,
"Last season we worked on this right side with different profiles; Lucha (Geertruida) was one of these profiles. We had to decide this summer about the full package because we like the player but it's not only about technical football qualities, it's a full package.
"We had an opportunity with Thomas, which is more or less the same profile. He can play inside as a third centre-back, probably. He can play as a full-back; he can play as a wing-back.
"So we'll have this ability to manage different positions and different roles on the right side."
Sunderland fans can make their own minds up as to what Le Bris means by the “full package”, whether that be the financial aspects of the move, or perhaps in regards to something unseen with Geertruida on a personal level.
Considering his qualities, pedigree and versatility, the likely event will be this summer that a club from one of Europe’s top five leagues sign the Dutch international permanently this summer and he goes on to be a success in his post-Sunderland chapter.
Regardless, Meunier’s arrival brings years of experience at the elite level, and his signing is poised to bring a monumental benefit to Le Bris’ squad, both on the field and in the dressing room.
In addition, if Sunderland do utilise that £20m fee saved by opting against Geertruida to bring in a potentially new club-record signing this summer, there will be very few complaints about this transfer saga come next season.
