Leeds can neglect all about Pascal Struijk by signing £26m English defender

It’s no secret that Leeds United might be out there so as to add at the least one central defender to their squad earlier than the summer time switch window slams shut.

In a barely stunning transfer, Dutchman Pascal Struijk ended his profession at Elland Highway by finishing a £20m transfer to Premier League rivals Brighton & Hove Albion on the finish of final month.

The defender opted in opposition to placing pen to paper on an extension in West Yorkshire and that compelled the membership to money in on him, as his deal was resulting from expire on the finish of the 2026/27 marketing campaign.

Struijk began 33 of the membership’s 38 matches within the Premier League final season for Daniel Farke, which is why his exit from the membership can have come as an enormous blow for the German head coach.

His transfer to Brighton additionally now signifies that Leeds shouldn’t have a single naturally left-footed central defender of their first-team squad heading into subsequent time period.

Leeds United contemplating transfer to signal Serie A defender

As a supervisor who likes his groups to construct out from the again and to regulate possession the place potential, Farke will desire a left-footed participant to function on the left of the again three.

Now, the membership are taking a look at a left-footed participant who might arrive at Elland Highway as a fair higher possibility than Struijk for the previous Norwich Metropolis head coach subsequent season.

In accordance with TuttoJuve, Leeds United are certainly one of plenty of golf equipment occupied with a deal to signal central defender Lloyd Kelly from Juventus in the summertime switch window.

The report claims that Leeds, Aston Villa, and Everton all have concrete curiosity within the left-footed star and are contemplating strikes to carry him again to England within the coming weeks.

It provides that Kelly is without doubt one of the important candidates to be offered by the Outdated Woman forward of the 2026/27 marketing campaign and that they’re prepared to take heed to provides for him.

TuttoJuve explains that Juventus are at the moment asking for a charge of £30m for the defender, however that they’d be prepared to simply accept a charge of round £26m.

Why Lloyd Kelly is even higher than Pascal Struijk

After Struijk helped Leeds to keep away from relegation straight again all the way down to the Championship as an everyday starter within the Premier League, the Whites want a alternative who can hit the bottom operating and make an instantaneous affect at Elland Highway.

Kelly, as soon as described as a “Rolls-Royce” by Jonathan Woodgate, suits the invoice as a result of he’s at the moment enjoying for a European large, Juventus, and has loads of earlier expertise within the Premier League with Bournemouth and Newcastle.

The English star’s performances within the Serie A for the Italian facet additionally counsel that he would arrive in West Yorkshire as a fair higher left-sided centre-back possibility than Struijk for Farke.

Primarily based on their respective statistics final season, Kelly is way harder to get the higher of for opposition attackers than Struijk, as he’s dribbled previous much less regularly and wins the next proportion of his duels on the bottom and within the air.

He’s significantly simpler at defending aerial duels and that would assist the Whites to enhance from set-piece conditions heading into the 2026/27 Premier League marketing campaign.

Within the first half of the 2024/25 season, previous to his winter transfer to Juventus, Kelly gained 58% of his floor duels and 78% of his aerial battles throughout ten appearances for Newcastle within the Premier League.

He additionally gained 61% of his whole duels throughout 23 appearances within the division for Bournemouth within the 2023/24 marketing campaign, earlier than his transfer to the Magpies in the summertime of 2024.

These statistics present that he has already confirmed himself to be a dominant central defender within the Premier League, with two different golf equipment, and he has carried that type over to Italy with Juventus.

On prime of being a greater out-and-out defender than Struijk, Kelly additionally accomplished 89% of his tried passes within the Serie A and created three ‘large probabilities’ for his teammates.

In the meantime, the Dutchman accomplished 88% of his tried passes within the Premier League and created two ‘large probabilities’ for his facet, which means that the Englishman could be a slight improve with the ball at his ft.

Total, Leeds should push to beat Villa and Everton to Kelly’s signature within the coming weeks as a result of the left-footed star appears like the proper alternative for Struijk this summer time.