How some Leeds fans reacted to Pascal Struijk deal

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In a campaign which has seen so many Leeds United players impress beyond all expectations, it is surely fair to say that Pascal Struijk has been the biggest revelation of the lot.

This time last year, Struijk seemed to be one of several under-23 players who looked to possess a lot of talent, but may struggle to make the grade at Elland Road.

He had made a couple of first-team appearances up until that point. But his last appearance before the season was halted came in the game which saw Leeds squander a 3-0 lead against Cardiff.

However, following the restart, Struijk produced a handful of amazing displays. The highlight was questionably his cameo against Barnsley as Leeds desperately held onto a 1-0 advantage to put themselves on the brink of promotion.

Remarkably, his first league start at centre-back for the Whites came at Liverpool on the opening day of this season. And while he has been in and out of the side at times since then, it does now appear that his partnership with Diego Llorente is the best available to Marcelo Bielsa.

In fact, there is now a chance that Struijk could end up playing at Euro 2020 this summer. Dutch outlet De Telegraaf hinted this week that he could be in contention for both the Belgium and Netherlands squads with the youngster yet to decide on his international future.

It is an amazing rise for the 21-year-old just over three years since his arrival at Elland Road. Unsurprisingly, it is a rise that few Leeds supporters saw coming.

Leeds announced Struijk’s move in January 2018. At the time, Thomas Christiansen’s tenure was coming towards its conclusion. And the supporters were desperately hoping to see the first-team bolstered with the signing of a striker as their play-off hopes started to capitulate.

Interestingly, many backed Struijk to be an exciting signing for the future. But there were also plenty of others who had grown weary of the raft of under-23 additions and were not expecting anything from the teenager.

With that in mind, here is a selection of fan tweets in response to the announcement that Leeds had signed Struijk. Some have not aged well…