Leeds United defender Pascal Struijk has insisted he made the right move joining the club and wants to prove that players who don’t make it at Ajax can succeed.
Struijk joined Leeds from Ajax’s youth set up in 2018 and made the step up to Marcelo Bielsa’s first team in January last year.
He’s been a regular for the Whites ever since, with the Leeds boss showing faith in the 22-year-old despite a handful of shaky performances.
There is belief the defender can be a star in the future, having risen through the ranks and clearly impressed those in charge at Elland Road.
The path to the Premier League has not been an easy one for Struijk, who started out at Ado Den Haag before joining Ajax’s Under 19 set up.
The Dutch side are renowned for developing youngsters and giving them their chance in the first-team, but that was not the case for Struijk, who never made it to the senior side during his time with the club.
That could be seen as an indication he simply wasn’t good enough, but his time with Leeds so far suggests otherwise, and he is keen to show that Ajax are not the be-all and end-all.
“At Ajax, everything was different. There were bigger players around. More ego, more personality. I was too impressed by other players,” he told Voetbal International.
“I was certainly not the best youth player at Ajax in those days. But the hidden potential was not seen either. The only thing is: what do you do about it? “It has to come from the player.
“He has to show how much he wants it. That urge has grown a lot in me in recent years. I needed some help with that.
“Quite a few people had their doubts (about Leeds). Especially when I made the move to England so young, wasn’t that too quick? But everyone’s path is different.
“For me, this turned out to be the right one. I’m showing how things can also go if you’re not seen at Ajax.”
