Pascal Struijk was not a part of Leeds’ Under-23 clash against Millwall on Monday.
Paul Heckingbottom has already shown his huge faith in younger players since taking over at Leeds United by handing Bailey Peacock-Farrell, Tom Pearce and Paudie O’Connor a chance to shine – and that list could be about to grow.
Gaetano Berardi’s red card against Sunderland on Saturday afternoon will see the one-time Switzerland international banned for the next five games – as it is his third red card of the season – meaning he will not feature until next term.
Everton loanee Matthew Pennington remains sidelined, as does club captain Liam Cooper and Conor Shaughnessy, leaving Heckingbottom with somewhat of a dilemma at centre-back ahead of Tuesday’s trip to Deepdale.
Under-23 captain O’Connor started against Sunderland and was more than adept alongside Pontus Jansson, but Heckingbottom could be about to add another young defender into the mix.
Leeds’ second string faced Millwall’s development side at The Den on Monday and excluded Dutch youngster Pascal Struijk from their squad, despite the 18-year-old being a prominent member of Carlos Corberan’s side.
Struijk signed a three-and-a-half-year deal at Elland Road in January, joining the club from Dutch giants Ajax and has since impressed alongside O’Connor as Corberan’s centre-back pairing.
But he was replaced by Fulham defender Dan Martin on Monday – a trialist, who is contracted to Fulham – and that could suggest that Heckingbottom is looking to include him in his senior side ahead of Tuesday’s Championship clash.
A three-time Holland Under-17 international, Struijk has earned rave reviews in Leeds’ reserve side and he could be the latest of the Whites’ young guns to be hoisted into the first team with little to play for this season.
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