It was no surprise to see Pascal Struijk be the first player Leeds United cashed in on this summer.
With just one year left on his deal, the writing was on the wall that he’d leave this summer if we could not come to terms with him on a new deal.
Personally, I always expected Struijk to move abroad if he left Leeds. But this wasn’t the case, as he joined Brighton in a deal worth £20million, with a sell-on clause included.
Graham Smyth has also shared his thoughts on the deal, even offering Leeds a warning of what they’ll be missing next season.
Graham Smyth believes Pascal Struijk will be a big miss for Leeds United
Struijk has always been someone who’s split the opinion within the fanbase.
To some, he was an absolutley incredilbe ball playing centre back. For others, he was a defender who was slow on the turn and prone to making a costly error.
For me, I personally thought Struijk was more of a liability in his earlier years at Leeds. However, under Daniel Farke, he progressed tremendously, and last season, I’d argue that he was our best centre-back.
Following Struijk’s move to Brighton, Smyth shared his concerns regarding the deal on the Inside Elland Road podcast.
“My main concern with this deal is: how do you replace him? He is criminally underrated, and the people who massively underrated him might be in for a surprise, depending on how Leeds go about replacing him.
“I think they will miss him a little bit when he is gone,” Smyth said.
When we were relegated from the Premier League in 2023, our defence was comical. However, since then, Struijk and Joe Rodon have played a huge part in shoring us up at the back, so to lose one of them to a Premier League rival is a major disappointment.
Leeds United will likely have to spend big on a Pascal Struijk replacement
Ensuring we get an adequate replacement for Struijk is arguably the 49ers’ most important task of the summer.
Our hierarchy will know that it will likely cost a lot more than the £20million we sold Struijk for to find a replacement on his level. On top of being a quality defender, they must also ideally be left-footed.
This can be like trying to find a unicorn at times, it seems.
Ladislav Krejci is the name we have been linked with most regularly. Wolves are reportedly wanting £40million for his services.
However, whether it’s Krejci or someone else, the 49ers need a marquee centre-back signing this summer.
Struijk was one of our best players last season, so we cannot afford to replace him with a stopgap option.
We need to accept that a new left-sided centre-half will be one of the more expensive signings we make this summer, and if we recruit well in that area, they will be worth every penny.
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