Leeds United could be set to lose one of their first-team stars next year, with a fresh report revealing that he’s emerged as a target for a club ahead of January.
Leeds’ summer departures
The Whites sanctioned the sales of 15 players in total over the summer, five of those being on a permanent basis, while the remaining ten were sent out on loan for the remainder of the season in order to increase their game time and experience.
|
Loan Moves |
Permanent Exits |
|---|---|
|
Robin Koch (Eintracht Frankfurt) |
Tyler Adams (Bournemouth) |
|
Max Wober (Borussia Monchengladbach) |
Rodrigo (Al-Rayyan SC) |
|
Brenden Aaronson (Union Berlin) |
Tyler Roberts (Birmingham City) |
|
Jack Harrison (Everton) |
Adam Forshaw (Norwich City) |
|
Luis Sinisterra (Bournemouth) |
Joel Robles (Al-Qadsiah) |
|
Rasmus Kristensen (AS Roma) |
|
|
Marc Roca (Real Betis) |
|
|
Sam Greenwood (Middlesbrough) |
|
|
Cody Drameh (Birmingham City) |
|
|
Sonny Perkins (Oxford United) |
Daniel Farke has Jamie Shackleton, Luke Ayling, Liam Cooper, Stuart Dallas, Lewis Bate, Sam Byram and Ian Poveda who will have all reached the expiration of their deals at the end of the season (Leeds contracts), so they could be heading for the exit door in January.
Back in 2018, Pascal Struijk first joined the club’s academy and he’s since worked his way up through the youth ranks to become a regular feature of the first team where he’s so far made 113 senior appearances to date (Transfermarkt – Struijk stats).
The Dutch centre-back still has another four years remaining on his terms as it stands so new owners the 49ers Enterprises aren’t under any pressure to get him off the books, but if the following update is to be believed, the 24-year-old may be tempted to start a new adventure elsewhere, more specifically over in Belgium.
Club Brugge eyeing move for Pascal Struijk
According to Voetbal Nieuws (via Sport Witness), Struijk is of interest to Club Brugge ahead of January. The Belgian Pro League side are looking to recruit “added value players” to their squad in the coming weeks and months, and they believe that the defender “falls into” that category perfectly.
The Leeds star meets “all the criteria” that his admirer’s chiefs are searching for because they want a “leader” at the heart of the backline which is something that he can “certainly provide” given that is what his role is now.
The West Yorkshire outfit have seemingly set a price tag of €15m (£13m), but should the overseas club want to sign him, they will “also have to free up a significant salary budget”.
Leeds need to keep “solid” Struijk
Standing at 6 foot 2, Struijk is a rock at centre-back for Leeds which he’s proven so far this season where he’s currently averaging 2.9 clearances and 2.4 aerial wins per game in the Championship, with Farke hailing him for his “crucial” role so far in 2023/24. (WhoScored – Struijk stats).
The Deurne native, who is naturally left-footed, is also capable of having a positive impact at the opposite end of the pitch because he’s already scored three goals in 17 appearances across all competitions since the start of the term, showing how well-rounded he is.
During the 2019/20 campaign, Struijk helped the club to achieve promotion so he knows what it takes to get out of the second tier, therefore, keeping the “solid” titan in the building, as hailed by journalist Josh Bunting, appears to be hugely important should they want to do the same again.
