Leeds United Boss Vetoed Sale Of £16 Million Star

Leeds United boss Daniel Farke vetoed any sale of Pascal Struijk following Leeds United’s relegation from the Premier League last season and believes the Dutchman is a key man for the Peacocks.

Struijk moved to Elland Road as a youngster back in 2018 from Ajax and has been vital at the back for the Yorkshire club ever since the team were promoted back to the top flight under Marcelo Bielsa three years ago.

The Netherlands international is also one of a small group of players who stuck around after the team were condemned to the Championship last term while many decided to part ways during the summer.

Struijk did sign a new contract last December when Jesse Marsch was in charge of the first-team, keeping him at Leeds until 2027. However, according to The Athletic, board members at Elland Road believed the centre-back would join the mass exit party in the summer.

Nevertheless, the outlet claims that Farke refused to sell the versatile defender, telling the Leeds United board to rebuff any offer submitted for the 24-year-old. Struijk was the one man that the German didn’t want to lose.

There was interest at one point from Belgian side Club Brugge, as reported by Voetbal Krant, but no deal came to fruition in the end with the UEFA Europa Conference League side.

Farke’s faith in Struijk has been repaid already as Leeds United have kept five clean sheets in their last six matches in the Championship. The only game that the Peacocks failed to keep the opposition out was during a 3-1 defeat to Southampton at the weekend but Struijk did score Leeds’ only goal of the match.

Having cost Leeds nothing when he joined after a successful trial half a decade ago, the Dutch defender now has a transfer value of £16 million, according to Transfermarkt.

Writer’s View

Keeping Struijk was a wise decision by Farke. The ex-Ajax man can play a wide variety of positions including at centre-back, fullback and even as a number ‘6’, where he was utilised a number of times under Bielsa in the absence of Kalvin Phillips.

Leeds United are in the playoff places now and will want to consolidate there or push for the automatic promotion spots. Having a player with the quality of Struijk at the back will go a long way to achieving this.

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