Leeds United’s lead at the top of the Championship table did not last for long after they were knocked out of the automatic promotion places in the division at the weekend.
The Whites are now third in the league and three points behind Sheffield United in first place, after the Blades beat Sunderland 1-0 on Friday night.
Daniel Farke’s side could have moved back to the top of the table with a win against Blackburn Rovers at Ewood Park on Saturday, only for them to lose 1-0 to a penalty from Todd Cantwell.
The West Yorkshire outfit are currently sat in the same position that they finished the regular season in last term, which led to them losing in the play-off final against Southampton.
Leeds will be hoping to go one better and finish inside the top two to secure automatic promotion to the Premier League this season, rather than rely on going through the play-offs.
The Whites have done well to bounce back from the disappointment of last season to remain in the hunt for promotion this term, particularly after they lost a number of their top performers in the summer transfer window.
The money Leeds raked in over the summer
Academy graduate and Young Player of the Year Archie Gray moved on from Elland Road after just one year in the first-team, joining Premier League side Tottenham Hotspur.
It was reported that Spurs agreed a fee of up to £30m for the England U21 international’s services, whilst centre-back Joe Rodon returned to Leeds on a permanent deal going the other way.
Finland international Glen Kamara also moved on from the club to sign for Ligue 1 outfit Rennes for a reported fee of €10m (£8.3m), just one year after his move to Elland Road from Scottish giants Rangers.
Crysencio Summerville was sold to Premier League side West Ham United for an initial fee of £25m, after his haul of 19 goals and nine assists in the Championship during the 2023/24 campaign.
The largest fee raked in by Leeds during the summer transfer window, however, was the reported £40m that Brighton & Hove Albion spent on Georgino Rutter, after his return of 15 assists from a number ten position in the second tier last season.
Whilst Leeds will not want to cash in on their best players every summer, the Whites may have a player in their ranks who could go for even more than any of the players sold in the most recent window.
Leeds have struck gold on Pascal Struijk
Central defender Pascal Struijk has matured into a terrific player for the club in recent seasons under Farke’s coaching, after some struggles at Premier League level at the start of his career.
The Dutch titan, who came through the academy after joining from Ajax’s youth set-up, played 29 times in the top-flight in the 2022/23 campaign, as the Whites were relegated from the division.
Struijk was dribbled past 0.9 times per game and gave away two penalties that term, as he struggled at times under Jesse Marsch, Javi Gracie, and Sam Allardyce.
The drop down to the second tier and the arrival of Farke as the club’s new manager provided the Dutchman with a chance to emerge as a start for the Whites, by thriving week-in-week-out as a regular.
In the 2023/24 campaign, Struijk started 22 of the first 23 league games of the season before suffering a groin injury that ruled him out for the final 27 matches in all competitions.
Appearances
23
Pass accuracy
90%
Penalties committed
0
Dribbled past per game
0.3x
Duel success rate
61%
As you can see in the table above, the 25-year-old brute did not give away any penalties and was rarely dribbled past by opposition players, which was a significant improvement on his Premier League form.
The Leeds defender, who was once hailed as a “monster” by writer Daniel Fraiz Martinez on X, has now returned from his groin injury and emerged as a key player for Farke in the current campaign.
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In fact, his performances at Championship level have been impressive enough to earn him a comparison to a £50m-rated international central defender.
Struijk is a £50m star in the making
Over the last 365 days of action in the second tier, Struijk’s statistics have been good enough for FBref to list Sporting centre-back Goncalo Inacio as one of the most similar players to the Leeds man.
They are both relatively young – 25 and under – left-footed defenders who are incredibly progressive in their use of the ball, as they look to get their respective teams playing out from the back to create chances.
As you can see in the chart above, they both rank very highly among defenders in the Men’s Next 14 Competitions (outside the top five leagues) over the last 365 days in a number of key possession-based statistics.
Inacio has been linked with Arsenal this year and has a release clause of €60m (£50m), which shows the kind of fee that his performances could see him moved on for.
The Leeds giant, therefore, could be a £50m player in the making for Farke, who has turned him into a progressive monster at the heart of the defence, given his similarities to Inacio and his style of play suiting the top teams in Europe – who want centre-backs who can play out from the back and be progressive.
Passes attempted
90.72
Top 2%
Progressive passes
6.89
Top 1%
Pass accuracy
91%
Top 8%
Progressive carries
1.22
Top 12%
Shot-creating actions
1.44
Top 6%
As you can see in the table above, Struijk also ranks highly among his positional peers in the Championship this season, which speaks to his quality in possession at that level.
Defensively, the 25-year-old ace has won 61% of his duels across 18 starts and helped his side to keep nine clean sheets, with zero errors that led to shots or goals, and zero penalties committed.
If he can continue his fine form, in and out of possession, and avoid any more major injuries then the club could have another hugely valuable asset on their hands in the future.
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