Leeds United journalists Joe Donnohue and Beren Cross have both given their views on defender Pascal Struijk following his performance this past weekend.
Marcelo Bielsa’s men pulled out a much-needed victory last Sunday against West Ham United, with their 3-2 victory enough to give them a little bit of breathing space above the relegation zone in the Premier League.
And whilst they conceded two goals, it could have been more had it not been for the performance of Struijk, who made five tackles, won five aerial duels, as well as making three clearances and one interception (via WhoScored), keeping the Hammers at bay just enough to help pull out three points.
Speaking on the Blue, White and Yellow podcast, Donnohue and Cross discussed both his performance on the day, as well as what he could do for Leeds moving forward, noting how his age and his skillset could turn him into a key figure for the club.
Donohue said: “My man of the match, you know, goals aside, was Pascal because five out of five tackles made, five out of nine aerial duels, I think it was. [Michail] Antonio didn’t really get a sniff in the box, and there’s not many times you’ve been able to say that this season. It looked like he matched him physically.
“And to come back after one and a half months, six weeks or so, without any football, that was the performance that you needed from Pascal today, and he delivered.”
Cross added: “I mean, it’s quite frightening, really, how good he’s going to be, because he’s still so young and he’s got all of the physical attributes you need already. And his technical and especially mental attributes are only going to get better with experience. He’s going to be a hell of an asset in a few years’ time.
“We’re not going to make this a ‘Leeds United in five years’ time’ podcast, but, you know, Liam Cooper we know is the other side of 30 now, Robin Koch’s a little bit younger, Diego Llorente’s into his peak – but Struijk is, all being well, going to be Leeds United’s centre-half for the next 5-10 years and his value is going to shoot up.”
TIF Thoughts on Joe Donnohue and Beren Cross’ comments about Pascal Struijk at Leeds United…
Will Pascal Struijk become world class?
Yes
No
It certainly was an impressive performance from 22-year-old Struijk on the day, and if he can perform at that level moving forward, then it’s perfectly understandable why someone like Cross might think that he could be at the heart of the Leeds defence going forward.
But it was interesting to hear Cross talk about him being an asset as well, because it may well be that he can be more valuable to the club in the bank than he is on the pitch.
With Bielsa only under contract until the end of the season, his age and the fact that Leeds have reportedly already started making succession plans, it’s not impossible to think that a new manager could come in who wouldn’t fit with Struijk’s style – in which case, he might need to be sold in order to raise funds to bring in a different set of players.
Either way, Leeds have a valuable commodity on their hands, and it will be interesting to see what the club do with him moving forward.
In other news: ‘This is a relief’, ‘Thank you for this’ – Many LUFC fans love update on player ‘made of glass’