Pascal Struijk reveals who he could have joined over Leeds United - and the forgotten men who helped him settle
Pascal Struijk has revealed he turned down a chance to remain in the Netherlands to join Leeds United.
During Victor Orta’s time as director of football at Elland Road, it was common for Leeds to recruit youngsters from other academies.
Struijk, who had cut his teeth in the prestigious youth system at Ajax, was among those brought on board.
He is arguably among the most shrewd signings of Leeds’ modern era having amassed nearly 200 appearances and won the Championship title twice.
However, the 26-year-old could have taken a very different step back in early 2018.
Choosing Leeds United
During an interview on The Official Leeds United Podcast, he said: “There was two places I could have gone to. One was a team in Holland, called Groningen, which more towards the north, and play in the second team.
“Or, I could go for a trial here at Leeds and see how this is feeling, take a big step into a new country and moving. I decided it was better for me to take a big step and see how I develop as a person.
“It was such a big step away from home. It’s not like I’m still in the same country, I can rely on my parents or I can rely on coming back and forth.
“It’s more like, I want to put myself in this position, throw myself in the deep end, see how I grow or develop from this situation, because I feel there is no right or wrong. I can only see if I put myself up to that challenge, to see how I develop from there. That is something that has worked out really well for me.”
Help from wife and forgotten men
Struijk was helped by his partner, who is now his wife, who moved with him to England.
However, he was also aided by the presence of two Dutch players in the Leeds ranks. Former Netherlands international Vurnon Anita was on the books at Elland Road when Struijk signed, as was Ouasim Bouy.
He said: “One thing I do have to say, which helped me a lot, when I first came here, I was young. But the week after I came here, it was my wife who came with me. She said ‘I want to stay with you’. Her parents at the time were not okay with this. But she said ‘I’m going to stop school and come with you’.
“There was two Dutch guys - Vurnon was still here and Ouasim Bouy. I spoke with them.
“Also we had Klichy (Mateusz Klich), he’s not Dutch but he used to be in the Netherlands. It was nice I was able to speak with them when I was progressing to the first team.”