Earnest Stewart addresses one specific PSV transfer: “It required a lot of patience”

The transfer market is closed in the Netherlands and that means that Dutch clubs can no longer buy new players. This also applies to PSV, where the transfer carousel appeared to get going fairly late this summer.

In early July, PSV paid thirteen million euros for Sven Mijnans, bringing him over from AZ, and then for a while it seemed to stay quiet in Eindhoven. From the beginning of August, the carousel finally appeared to get moving, and among other players, Kodai Sano, Filip Kostic and Lutsharel Geertruida were signed.

Regarding the latter, technical director Earnest Stewart is happy that he has come to PSV. Stewart tells Voetbal International, and the TD also goes into more detail about how the deal between PSV and the defender came about.

''With Mikkel Bro Hansen and Lutsharel Geertruida, we have really been working on this for a long time. Twelve weeks, and the first contacts are still from far back before that. That they eventually end up walking around here with us is nice; it gives a lot of satisfaction. But it required a great deal of patience. When Geertruida came by, I became calm and we were able to work further on the window using our own strength,'' says the American.

Then the former footballer goes into more detail about Geertruida’s arrival. ''First of all it’s for a year, but there is an option to buy. "But Lutsharel is a Dutch kid who knows what it’s like to play with the knife between his teeth and with room in his back. In addition, he can help Yarek (Gasiorowski, ed.) and Ryan (Flamingo, ed.) so that they can also take the next step again. This was the most logical thing for us to do, even when we compared it to a player with the same qualities for whom we had to pay a fee. And of course we also have Jerdy'', Stewart continues.

Even the media were busy with the interest from PSV in the former Feyenoorder. ''When it became known that we were working with Geertruida, the world in Rotterdam started to move. What happens then to a boy like that, his family and his environment? Does that affect his decision? Geertruida was fortunately very resolute in that regard. He makes the choice for his career with his head'', concludes the American.