£30 million Aston Villa target told he made ‘perfect’ decision in turning down Emery’s side

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Former Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Rafael Van der Vaart believes that an Aston Villa target made the right decision by opting not to join the club.

Aston Villa were one of the busier sides in the Premier League as Unai Emery’s side prepared for their campaign in the UEFA Champions League.

Villa signed Everton midfielder Amadou Onana and also brought in Chelsea left-back Ian Maatsen for a fee in the region of £40 million. As well as this, the Midlands club also signed Ross Barkley from Luton Town.

Villa will face Bayern Munich and Juventus in the Champions League. However, despite the busy summer that Villa had, they missed out on one key target.

Aston Villa missed out on Feyenoord’s Lutsharel Geertruida

HITC had reported that Aston Villa had agreed a fee with Feyenoord for the signing of defender Lutsharel Geertruida with the Dutchman looking likely to move to Villa Park.

Villa had agreed to pay around £30 million but we also reported that sales would be needed from the Midlands club before they could complete the signing of the versatile Dutchman.

With Villa struggling to get a deal over the line for Geertruida, Bundesliga giants Red Bull Leipzig snuck in at the 11th hour and signed the Dutchman, which was a big blow for Villa.

Villa have Matty Cash as a right-back but bringing in Geertruida would have been great for squad depth with the Midlands club preparing for playing in a European competition, which means their squad will be stretched.

There was certainly some disappointment that they missed out on Geertruida but former Spurs midfielder Rafael Van Der Vaart believes Geertruida made the right decision.

Rafael Van Der Vaart believes Geertruida made the right decision

Van Der Vaart was brutal when discussing Santiago Gimenez’s potential move to Nottingham Forest but this did not come to pass and now the former Real Madrid midfielder believes the Dutchman made the correct decision moving to Leipzig.

“A really good step, I think. This is a nice intermediate step. It’s really a perfect club for him,” Van Der Vaart told Voetbal Primeur.

“He is very calm and can also play in midfield. Not many defenders can do that,” the analyst continues. “I thought it was a relief when I saw him play.”