Noel Whelan reacts to Pascal Struijk’s display in Leeds win

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Noel Whelan has told BBC Radio Leeds (broadcast on 22/7; 21:25) that he thought Pascal Struijk produced a fantastic performance during Leeds United’s stunning 4-0 victory on the final day of the Championship season.

Charlton Athletic would have been aware following the Whites’ excellent weekend win that Leeds would not make life easy for them just because the league title had already been wrapped up.

And it quickly became apparent that Leeds were, once again, in no mood to take their foot off the accelerator as they went on to win 4-0.

Struijk kept his place in the side in holding midfield. And he went on to produce another superb display in the absence of Kalvin Phillips.

Whoscored.com shows that he made 48 accurate passes, two successful challenges, two clearances and two interceptions to help keep the Addicks at bay.

And the highlight of the night for Struijk came when he produced a stunning long-range ball into the path of Ian Poveda, who went on to set up Jamie Shackleton for Leeds’s final goal.

Following the game, Whelan expressed just how impressed he has been with the 20-year-old since he recently returned to the side.

‘He was excellent’

“What a game by the way,” he told BBC Radio Leeds (22/7; 21:25), when asked about Struijk’s performance. “Coming in, last week’s performance I felt was fantastic away at Derby. Tonight’s another step above. He was excellent.

“The pass for the fourth goal for Poveda, scored by Shackleton, that was a pass worthy of the Premier League. For a young lad who’s stepping in the shoes of, in my opinion, the best defensive midfield player in the Championship and is going to be a star in the Premier League in Kalvin Phillips, he’s done himself so much credit.

“And the performance that we’ve seen: disciplined, talented, fast, creative but aggressive. Just what we want in that position.”

Despite making his debut much earlier in the season, Struijk does appear to have been one of the club’s biggest finds since football returned in June.

He has shown that he is good enough for first-team football at Elland Road, no matter which division Bielsa’s side find themselves in.