‘Not normal’… Aidy White stunned by 24-year-old Leeds player

Add as preferred source on Google

Leeds United defender Pascal Struijk earned praise from Aidy White during the Whites’ 4-0 hammering of Ipswich Town in the Championship on Saturday.

The BBC Sport pundit, who came through the ranks at Leeds, said the 24-year-old did something that was “not normal” – in a good way – during the match.

Daniel Farke’s charges secured an emphatic win against the Championship’s second-placed side at Elland Road, sending a message to the rest of the division.

Struijk opened the scoring in the eighth minute of the match, heading home on the rebound after Vaclav Hladky kept out Joel Piroe’s effort from Crysencio Summerville’s corner.

“Great delivery there from Crysencio Summerville, Pascal Struijk is on the front foot, which is not normal for a centre-half,” White said on BBC Sport.

“Lovely jubbly! Fans are now behind Leeds, Ipswich are looking a little shaky. A nice start.”

Leeds United run riot against Ipswich

Leeds turned their nice start into a nice victory, putting the game well beyond Ipswich’s reach by the 53rd minute of the game.

Summerville was involved in the second goal as well, his square ball across goal being accidentally diverted by Leif Davis into his own net on 25 minutes.

The Dutch winger then finally got on the scoresheet himself in the 45th minute, winning and converting a penalty which Davis – who used to play for Leeds – conceded.

Piroe added the cherry on top early on in the second half, coolly finishing off a frantic counter after a through-ball came off a Blues defender’s heel and fell to the summer signing.

As for Struijk, he delivered an “excellent display, as per the Yorkshire Evening Post, who gave him a 9 out of 10 rating.

“Showed real strength, bullied attackers, passed the ball really well and reacted quickly to score a goal,” they wrote.

Leeds are next in action on Boxing Day, heading to Preston North End for a 12:30pm kickoff.