It should really come as little surprise to Leeds United fans when a member of Marcelo Bielsa’s squad shines in a position they have previously been untested in.
Nevertheless, Pascal Struijk’s emergence as a holding midfielder late last season left many stunned – including some of his own teammates.

Patrick Bamford told Leeds Live after the vital win over Barnsley that none of the squad had seen Struijk play anywhere but centre-back before the end of lockdown. However, he got his chance in a more advanced role after pocketing the striker in a murderball session.
Struijk has gone on to impress in defence and midfield for the first-team.

But following the latest under-23 win on Sunday, perhaps it would appear that Struijk is ready to add another string to his bow.
Struijk played the majority of the 2-0 victory over Norwich in holding midfield. But towards the end, he was moved over to the left as a wing-back.
It saw Struijk threaten to make a contribution in the final third. His superb distribution saw a couple of delightful crosses into the box. And there also appeared to be an audacious attempt from just inside the Norwich half that was not too far off target.
Leeds do not appear to need another left-sided player. But Bielsa would have surely been impressed by how comfortably Struijk seemed to take to this latest new role.
And given how two-footed the youngster appears to be, there may be every reason to believe Leeds are still not yet done finding out just how versatile Struijk could be.
Receive weekly football news and updates to your mailbox
