PSV's Transfer Targets: Geertruida, Kostic, and Sano
On the surface, PSV’s summer looks strangely calm. No transfer frenzy, no daily unveilings, no headline-grabbing splurges. Behind the scenes, it’s anything but quiet.
Technical director Earnest Stewart has drawn up a clear to-do list: a left-back, a centre-back and a defensive midfielder must arrive before the window shuts. Three names sit firmly at the top of that shortlist, and PSV have already started to move.
Geertruida: agreement reached, battle still raging
The most advanced file is that of Lutsharel Geertruida. According to Rik Elfrink of Eindhovens Dagblad, PSV have been working on the deal for “several weeks already” and now have a personal agreement in place with the versatile defender.
That doesn’t mean it’s done.
RB Leipzig are holding out for a €20 million transfer fee, and they are not the only club in the picture. Feyenoord are pushing to bring Geertruida back, determined not to lose him without a fight. PSV, Leipzig, Feyenoord – it’s a tug of war, and the player is right in the middle.
For Stewart, Geertruida would be a statement signing: a defender who can cover multiple positions, raise the level of the back line and offer instant Champions League-ready depth. The groundwork is there. Now comes the hard part: closing the deal.
Kostic on the wing: free, but far from simple
On the left flank, PSV are eyeing a very different kind of opportunity.
Filip Kostic, released by Juventus and currently a free agent, sits high on the Eindhoven wishlist. A player of proven pedigree, available without a transfer fee, fits perfectly into the profile of a club looking for experience and delivery from the wing.
But Kostic has options. AEK Athens have already put a contract on the table for the Serbian, and other suitors are circling. PSV can offer a title-chasing platform and European football, yet they still need to convince him that Eindhoven is the right next step in his career.
No fee doesn’t mean no competition. Kostic is a free agent in name only; in reality, he is at the centre of a quiet auction.
Sano the ideal fit – at an imperfect price
In midfield, the preferred target is clear: Kodai Sano of NEC.
PSV see the Japanese midfielder as the ideal reinforcement in the holding role. Sano himself is very keen on the move, and his agent, José Fortez Rodriguez, is described as positive about the idea. The sporting fit is obvious, the will from the player is there.
The stumbling block is the price.
NEC are reportedly asking around €18 million. For PSV, that figure is still too high. Talks and admiration are one thing; committing that kind of money for a defensive midfielder is another. As it stands, Sano is the dream option, not yet the realistic one.
No fire sale, no rush
If PSV are not yet pressing the accelerator on incoming transfers, it is because the outgoings have stalled.
Key players Mauro Júnior, Joey Veerman and Sergiño Dest have not found new clubs. The expectation was that at least two of them might move abroad this summer, freeing up both space in the squad and room in the budget.
For now, nothing.
Mauro has gone further than most. At a press conference on Friday, the Brazilian made his position crystal clear: he will “definitely” stay at PSV. With Jerdy Schouten sidelined by a knee injury, Mauro wears the captain’s armband. He has status, responsibility and, by the sound of it, no intention of forcing an exit.
Veerman and Dest are a different story. Both have been given clear price tags: €20 million for Veerman, €23 million for Dest. Those figures reflect their importance and their market value, but so far there has been no real movement around either player.
Elfrink summed it up neatly: these are players who would like to take a step abroad, but if they stay longer, they are “obviously not in the way.” PSV are not desperate to push them out. They are simply prepared if the right offer lands.
A window waiting to ignite
So PSV wait. The plans are drawn, the targets identified, the first conversations held. Geertruida has an agreement, Kostic is tempted, Sano is ready to jump. The market, though, has not yet broken open around Eindhoven.
Once one domino falls – an outgoing sale, a rival club blinking first, a player making his choice – this window could change pace very quickly.
For now, PSV are working in the shadows, lining up their moves. The question is not whether they will act, but how late in the summer they dare to roll the dice.
