Star Decided ‘Pretty Quickly’ On Leeds United Exit Admits MD | OneFootball

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Leeds United managing director Robbie Evans has revealed that Pascal Struijk decided on an Elland Road exit quickly, making it easier for the club to sell him before the 30th June accounting deadline.

The Leeds defender said goodbye to the Whites this summer, joining fellow Premier League outfit Brighton for an initial £15m transfer fee.

It was more of a forced sale, as the Whites had to comply with the PSR rules to avoid charges and possible points deductions, and therefore they got the deal done before the 30th June deadline.

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While revealing inside information on the sale, Evans stated that interest in Struijk had started to build even before the season was over.

Struijk also helped matters by deciding he would like to move well in advance, opening the door to a potential switch.

“Pascal’s appeal to other teams was clear before the year was over and then he was debating going or not”, Evans was quoted as saying by the BBC.

“He was helpful in deciding pretty quickly so we could decide to sell him before 30 June.”

The Leeds management braced themselves for the scenario of Struijk’s departure, and therefore, they did a lot of work in finding a replacement, Evans admits.

They eventually zeroed in on Sassuolo’s left-footed defender Tarik Muharemovic, beating off competition from a number of clubs for the Bosnian.

Muharemovic’s impact was almost immediately lauded by team-mate Lukas Nmecha, who said that the 23-year-old looked extremely comfortable on the ball.

“We were prepared for that possibility all season and so we did tonnes of work on a left centre-half last year”, Evans added.

“Having that news early was helpful, but we had, like always, various contingencies for Pascal.”

While Muharemovic replaced Struijk in the Leeds squad and Nico Elvedi came in to replace Sebastiaan Bornauw, the Whites are currently one centre-back down due to Joe Rodon’s absence.

The Wales defender is not due back until after the September/October international break.