Pascal Struijk deserves spot on Leeds bench for Brentford clash

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Pascal Struijk impressed as Leeds United’s under-23s opened their season with a dramatic win.

Leeds fans were subjected to a familiar feeling ahead of Wednesday’s clash with Brentford, with Marcelo Bielsa confirming to LUTV that Liam Cooper, Barry Douglas and Gjanni Alioski are all doubts for the game.

The Whites’ season was plagued by injury last term and Bielsa, remarkably, is still awaiting the chance to pick a team from a fully fit squad. What has made the problems all the more frustrating is that Cooper and Douglas seemed to come through Saturday’s win against Wigan unscathed while Alioski played for the under-23s on Monday.

Bielsa went on to confirm that Jamie Shackleton will play at right-back if Douglas misses out with Stuart Dallas switching to left-back. Presumably, Gaetano Berardi will replace Cooper if needed, while Leif Davis could also replace either man.

They may not be the only players who enjoy a promotion if the trio miss out however, as Pascal Struijk must surely be in line for a chance to make the first-team bench, particularly if Cooper is out.

Struijk finds himself in a strange position this summer. Leeds let a number of their young centre-backs leave the club over the summer, but Struijk was one that they decided to hold onto.

The clear-out meant that right-back Bryce Hosannah started alongside the Dutchman against Millwall’s under-23s on Monday. And barring a short period of the game when the Lions came from 2-0 down to draw level, the pair seemed to do extremely well.

Struijk looked a class act. He showed a lot of composure on the ball and read the game extremely well. It is probably fair to say that he was one of the stand-outs in a side that included a number of first-team players.

He still has a lot to prove before he is regularly rivalling Berardi and Davis in the pecking order, but he definitely appears to be edging closer to being ready for that chance in the senior side.

And if Bielsa has to leave Cooper out for Brentford’s visit, then perhaps it may be the perfect opportunity to include Struijk on the bench as he seems to get closer and closer to making his first-team bow.