Pascal Struijk leaves Leeds United for Brighton as Junior Firpo hails him a legend | OneFootball

Pascal Struijk has left Leeds United for Brighton after eight and a half years, the move confirmed on Tuesday evening for a £20m fee, according to Leedsunited.news.

He joined from Ajax at the start of 2018 and debuted under Marcelo Bielsa in 2019. One of Victor Orta’s youthful finds, he made 196 appearances and helped deliver two promotions, including under Daniel Farke last season.

He now heads to a Brighton side set for Europe next season, where he will link up with Georginio Rutter. He arrives after Jan Paul van Hecke’s departure, the defender whose underhit backpass led to a Dominic Calvert-Lewin goal.

In a video message to supporters, Struijk said he will miss the family environment at Leeds and stressed the club is more than just football. Many fans accepted the decision, even if plenty were sad to see him go.

He was popular for quiet leadership, photography, starting a young family in Yorkshire and donning a Radebe shirt during last season’s promotion celebrations.

Team-mates also weighed in. The Betis left-back Junior Firpo called him a Leeds legend and urged him to thrive, Anton Stach joked about voiceover work, while Liam Cooper sent warm wishes to him and his family and Luke Ayling noted the contrast between his arrival and departure.

Source: Leedsunited.news