Why Leeds should regret selling a Pascal Struijk upgrade for just £4m

Teams typically have to cash in on their best players if they are relegated from the Premier League, yet Leeds United are on the verge of selling one of their stars.

The Whites avoided relegation last season after coming up from the Championship, finishing 14th in the top-flight, but that has not prevented them from losing one of their key performers.

Brighton & Hove Albion have agreed a £20m fee with the club to sign central defender Pascal Struijk, who has spent his entire first-team career at Elland Road.

The Dutchman started 33 of the 38 games in the Premier League in the 2025/26 campaign, which highlights just how important he was for Daniel Farke in the left-sided centre-back role.

Unfortunately, the 26-year-old star has decided to explore a new challenge away from West Yorkshire and could play Conference League football with the Seagulls next term.

Why Leeds United are right to cash in on Pascal Struijk

There have been, understandable, negative reactions on social media since the news broke that Struijk is set to sign for Brighton, because the club are selling one of their best players to a Premier League rival on the face of it.

The £20m-rated star ranks seventh in the all-time rankings for appearances made by centre-backs in the club’s history, so he can move on from West Yorkshire with his head held high after a great stint.

It feels like the right time for him to move on, though, because the former Ajax talent only has 12 months left on his contract at Elland Road and would be free to agree a pre-contract with foreign teams as quickly as next January.

Cashing in on his is the right thing to do, therefore, because Leeds do not want to run the risk of losing him on a free transfer next term, and they can bank the majority of the fee as pure profit after signing him from Ajax for a nominal fee.

The attention must now turn to replacing the Dutchman in the summer transfer window, and Farke may look back and regret that he had already sold a player who would have been an upgrade on Struijk.

Leeds United already sold an upgrade on Pascal Struijk

It is not always simple or easy to predict how a young player will go on to develop. Few may have expected Struijk to play almost 200 games for the club after his move from Ajax, whilst Illan Meslier was tipped to be the next big thing after his initial breakthrough.

That is why it would be harsh to solely blame Farke for how Charlie Cresswell has performed since the Whites decided to sell him to Toulouse for £4m in the summer of 2024.

Irrespective of how the move came to be, Leeds must regret selling the defender, with the benefit of hindsight, because he would be an even better option than Struijk in the present day.

They both produced similar numbers for tackles, interceptions, and clearances, but the England U21 international was better at making blocks, winning duels, and dominating opposition attackers in aerial battles.

These statistics suggest that Cresswell is a better out-and-out defender in comparison to Struijk as he is more effective and efficient in his physical duels against opposing forwards, cutting out more attacks and winning the ball back more frequently for his side.

The 23-year-old star, who has been described as “impressive” by journalist Josh Bunting, also scored three goals in Ligue 1 for Toulouse last season, whilst Struijk failed to score a single goal from 3.02 xG in the Premier League.

This suggests that the English star would carry a greater offensive threat from corners and set-pieces with his aerial prowess, adding another dimension to Farke’s attack.

As a result of his impressive performances in France, Cresswell is now reportedly valued at £22m by Toulouse amid interest from Rennes and Crystal Palace, which is a significant increase on the £4m that Leeds sold him for.

Farke, therefore, may regret that he decided to part ways with the defender two years ago, because he now looks like an even better centre-back than Struijk and is worth even more than the Dutchman.