According to TeamTalk, Leeds United central defender Pascal Struijk has been linked with a move to French champions Paris Saint-Germain.
The 24-year-old, who can play at both centre-back and left-back, has started 22 Championship games for Daniel Farke‘s side this season, scoring three goals.
Struijk previously played for ADO Den Hag and Ajax before joining the Peacocks in January 2018. The Belgian-born defender spent nearly two years in the Elland Road youth system before making his senior debut in December 2019.
The former Netherlands under-17 international appeared five times for the Whites as they won the Championship in 2019/20, but he really came to prominence in their first season back in the top flight. Despite only getting an opportunity due to Liam Cooper’s injury, Struijk played 27 league games for Leeds and was a key component of their success upon their return to the Premier League.
The six-foot-three-inch defender went on to make 29 league appearances in 2021/22 and another 29 last season. However, as the Whites were relegated, the 24-year-old was primarily used as a left-back, and his performance levels noticeably declined, prompting some to question his place in the team.
Struijk, on the other hand, has been playing better than ever this season. Not only has he developed into a real goal threat from set-pieces, scoring more times this season than in his entire career prior, but he has also blossomed into a leader and has worn the armband on several occasions, raising his market value to £15.7 million, according to Transfermarkt.
Author’s Opinion
As good as Struijk has been this season, moving from the Championship to a team aiming to reach the latter stages of the Champions League is a step too far and will not benefit him in the long run. At various stages of his career, he has certainly demonstrated the levels of ability required to perform at the elite level, but the defender needs to perform consistently in the Premier League before considering a move to a club like PSG.
Struijk only needs to look at his center-back partner, Joe Rodon, to see that this is the case. He also put in strong performances in the Championship with Swansea City before moving to Tottenham Hotspur, but he struggled to get regular minutes and his career has stalled to the point where he is now back where he started.
Leeds will want to do everything they can to keep their star defender because Daniel Farke is a big fan of Struijk and vetoed the sale of the centre-back in the summer.
Leeds are in a good contractual position. Struijk signed a new four-and-a-half-year contract with the club almost exactly one year ago, which means the Parisian giants will have to pay a significant fee to entice the defender away from Yorkshire, and there is no chance of him running his contract down.
Leave a Comment