Leadership is one of the key tenets Jesse Marsch wants to lure out of Pascal Struijk as he approaches his mid-20s at Leeds United. With the ink on Struijk’s latest contract still drying and his minutes bettered only by Illan Meslier and Robin Koch, the Dutchman is becoming one of the most important projects at the club.
That contract running to 2027 was a show of faith from Leeds, who made a clear statement Struijk is their future in defence. Liam Cooper, whose own deal expires in 18 months, will be 35 when his teammate’s new contract ends and likely to have long since been supplanted by then.
Max Wober’s arrival poses an interesting question about the future of the defence too. While the Austrian can play at left-back, it would be no huge surprise to see a more natural full-back arrive in windows ahead to push Wober inside.
