What Pascal Struijk offers Brighton after a summer of departures | OneFootball

Brighton have turned to Pascal Struijk, signed from Leeds United at the end of June for around £18million, to steady a dressing room stripped of experience this summer.

“When I came to Leeds in 2024, Pascal was the vice-captain to Ethan Ampadu,” said former France international Josuha Guilavogui. “He is never going to yell at someone, but when he is speaking, everyone listens. He has a captain’s soul,” he told The Athletic.

Solly March and Adam Webster were released, James Milner retired and Joel Veltman departed when his contract expired. Coach Andrew Crofts left to join Roberto De Zerbi’s staff at Tottenham Hotspur.

With Lewis Dunk still influential at 34, Struijk’s leadership also offsets Jan Paul van Hecke’s £52million move to Tottenham. He captained newly-promoted Leeds on multiple occasions last season.

The 26-year-old played 196 times for Leeds, including 119 Premier League appearances across four seasons, and was used at left-back and in midfield under Marcelo Bielsa after joining from Ajax in 2018.

“When I first went there, he was just a centre-back, and then he moved into midfield not long afterwards,” said former Leeds winger Stuart McKinstry. “He was really down to earth and handled Bielsa’s demands, he would not make the same mistake again.”

“He is very strong in the air, defensively and offensively. He scored some nice headers and even took penalties, which is unusual for a centre-back,” said Guilavogui. “I remember one time we were playing Mario Kart. When he was losing, he was so mad. It was very funny.”

Source: NY Times