Article body analysed
By SIMON JONES and LEWIS STEELE, FOOTBALL REPORTER and DOMINIC KING Published: 20: 16 AEDT, 1 February 2026 | Updated: 23: 01 AEDT, 1 February 2026 32 View comments Liverpool are exploring a move for Sunderland defender Lutsharel Geertruida. The 25-year-old can play at right-back and centre back and is known to Liverpool boss Arne Slot from their time together at Feyenoord. The Netherlands international has been on Liverpool's radar previously when he was looking for more game time after a frustrating spell with RB Leipzig last season following a £17m move from Feyenoord. A deal is considered a long shot at this stage because of the timings with the window closing tomorrow, the complication of taking on the loan and Sunderland's need to find a replacement but talks are ongoing. Geertruida has played 17 times in the Premier League this season. Liverpool are exploring a move for Sunderland defender Lutsharel Geertruida Daily Mail Sport reported Liverpool's interest in Geertruida last May, prior to their decision to sign Jeremie Frimpong and with Conor Bradley showing great promise. Geertruida was subsequently due to join Marseille on deadline day before Sunderland stepped in with a £2. 1m loan fee and option to buy at £21m. The Sunderland star is not the only name on Liverpool's shortlist as they try to bolster Slot's defence before Monday's 7pm deadline. It is understood Sunderland will seek a small compensation package for cancelling Geertruida’s loan. The agreement with Leipzig should be straight forward. The Dutchman has given his word to Liverpool and sources indicate he has already told his Black Cats team-mates that he is leaving. Sunderland stars are said to be upset at his pending exit but the club will not stand in his way due to the scale of the opportunity at Liverpool. Geertruida was such an influential figure for Slot when the pair were winning trophies together at Feyenoord. Geertruida can also step into midfield and be used as a fifth man in that area – it is something he used to do to great effect in the Eredivise.
Share what you think
The comments below have not been moderated.
The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of Mail Online.
By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your Mail Online comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to Mail Online as usual. Do you want to automatically post your Mail Online comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to Mail Online as usual We will automatically post your comment and a link to the news story to your Facebook timeline at the same time it is posted on Mail Online. To do this we will link your Mail Online account with your Facebook account. We’ll ask you to confirm this for your first post to Facebook. You can choose on each post whether you would like it to be posted to Facebook. Your details from Facebook will be used to provide you with tailored content, marketing and ads in line with our Privacy Policy.