Leigh Bromby has suggested that Pascal Struijk did not put a foot wrong for Leeds United as he captained the side to a 2-1 victory over Bristol City on Saturday.
Bromby was speaking on BBC Radio Leeds after the Whites made it back to back wins heading into the international break.
With neither Liam Cooper or Luke Ayling in the starting lineup, Pascal Struijk got the chance to wear the armband against the Robins. The 24-year-old has formed a really good partnership with Joe Rodon at the start of this campaign. And they kept a clean sheet against Queens Park Rangers in midweek.
Leeds could not repeat that feat on Saturday, with Bristol City equalising in stoppage-time in the first-half. Nevertheless, the backline proved to be extremely impressive.
Pascal Struijk did not put foot wrong for Leeds
Bromby was full of praise for Archie Gray at right-back. And he suggested that Struijk was virtually flawless for Daniel Farke’s side.
“I think he’s solid. He’s a top performer at this level, at Championship level. He’s a top centre-back,” he told BBC Radio Leeds.
“Being left-footed gives that real balance with him and Rodon in terms of trying to play out, which Daniel wants all the time. And he did not put a foot wrong today. So really good performance, really solid. Captain as well, which is a big thing.”
Year in the Championship may be exactly what defender needed
Struijk is definitely one player who looks set to benefit from a year in the Championship. He was brilliant during our first year back in the Premier League. But the two seasons which followed did him no favours at all.
His confidence certainly seemed to take a massive knock. And that would have surely set his development back having previously looked destined to attract interest from both Netherlands and Belgium.
But Leeds’ backline is coping so well with the demands of the Championship so far. And if this season ends in promotion, the likes of Illan Meslier and Struijk will head back to the top-flight with a lot more belief and the feeling of having a clean slate.
And given their ages, there is no reason why those players cannot improve further in the years to come.
Given the potential they have previously showed, that could be huge for Leeds.
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