Pascal Struijk on surprise announcement and speaking out after quiet period - YEP 5/12/22

With Pascal Struijk, if you don't ask then you don't get.

By Graham Smyth

That was the case for the vast majority of the Leeds United squad and staff when the 23-year-old became a father around six months ago. It wasn't that Struijk was keeping Ayla Rose a secret, he did tell one or two, it's just that no one asked.

"Most of the people would put it on Instagram, whereas I am a more private guy," said the defender, speaking from Leeds' training camp in Spain. “A couple knew. I was quiet in the training ground, where if it came up in conversation I would have told them. I did send a message in the group.”

He got the news tattooed on a leg that is quickly becoming covered in ink. There's coordinates for the location of his first encounter with wife Abigail. Their wedding was another surprise to many at Leeds, with an anniversary Instagram post the first sign that nuptials had taken place. Unless you ask, or spot a new tattoo, there's a good chance you won't get.

Struijk is okay with big questions, though. Thrown into Premier League life aged just 20, at Anfield of all places, he's had to face the toughest of tests against the best players in the world's best league. Prior to this season he had racked up 56 English top flight appearances and might have been looking at this campaign with the view of someone who now knows what to expect. But then the question changed. Junior Firpo's injury woes opened up a vacancy at left-back, into which Struijk has impressively slipped.

"Since I've been at Leeds I've played in I don't know how many positions," he grins. "It's good to try something new and it's a good thing that it's going well. New challenges for me are always exciting, so I can improve my whole game and whole package as a player.

"I think [I played there] a couple of times under Marcelo when he was still here, or in the 23s, which was mainly fitness focused so I had just a little experience, not too much."

Premier League centre forwards are scary enough, Struijk was swimming with sharks when he first dipped his toes in the water in 2020, but out wide is where the really frightening creatures lurk. Slippery eels who dart past you and around you, escaping your grasp. Piranhas who can't wait to sink their teeth into the slightest mistake.

"It's a different position, it asks different things of you, you play much more one v one, you're asked to go and attack way more, running up and down the pitch, playing one v one against great players," said Struijk. "It is difficult but it's a good challenge for me to have.

"Probably in the beginning my positioning [was the most challenging detail], getting in the right position because it's very different. You're the last guy and no one is behind you, whereas when you're the centre-back and you shift to the other side and you have some cover and when you step in you have some cover from the other centre-back. You play one v one in a big space and you're the last guy defending, which is tricky but it's good for me."

Struijk appreciates the advice and support he's had from the more experienced left-back Junior Firpo, the man whose spot he took and one who, once fully fit again, will resume his bid to win it back. Luke Ayling and Stuart Dallas are other sounding boards he feels he could turn to if he ran into any trouble. All that running up and down the flank has 'probably' changed his body but what's most noticeable about Struijk is how much more confident he appears.

Previously describing himself as 'a bit too shy' he's so much more at ease, and more forthcoming, in an interview scenario - although you do still have to ask, in order to get. Some of that will be down to practice and all those pre and post-game broadcast duties he's had to perform as a first teamer. A lot of it will be down to his growing ease in the first team set-up. Injuries to more senior players have presented him with opportunities that he has duly taken, well enough to be considered a relatively established Premier League player.

"More and more," he said, when asked if he felt like one. "The more I play, the more confidence I get, which helps me put myself in the team and grow as a player vocally as well. Before, I would say I’m more quiet, but now I’m starting to speak more. Little jokes sometimes, which you need because if you are too quiet in this world, you’re not going to get it."

He's not one you would ever fear would get carried away, and his description of his performance against Mo Salah at Anfield in October's famous win as 'okay' is evidence that his feet remain on the ground.

"Still sometimes I am very critical to myself," he said. "I get at people at certain moments, but then there’s also a lot of things I can improve on. I can be happy with the games, especially when we win, but when we lose and I play a good game I’m still not happy because we lost."

The work he and his team-mates are being put through this week in Spain is aimed squarely at keeping Struijk happy as often as possible and winning games when the Premier League resumes. Manchester City are first up on December 28, then Newcastle United follow on New Year's Eve.

"It was good to get away for a few days but most important is getting back together as a group now, working hard for those difficult first two games," he said.

How will players like Struijk respond to the break? Will he sink or swim against Manchester City? Can he make a home at left-back and provide a solution to what feels like the longest standing problem for Leeds?

The questions never stop in the Premier League and if Struijk wants to ink his name on Marsch's team sheet for the rest of the season, he'll need to keep providing the answers.