Jon Newsome has suggested that Pascal Struijk did enough to keep his place for Leeds United’s next game, with the pundit backing Joe Rodon to replace Liam Cooper.
Newsome was speaking on BBC Radio Leeds after Daniel Farke’s side were beaten 3-1 by Southampton on Saturday, with the Whites nowhere near their best on the south coast.
Pascal Struijk has made a bright start to the season. But some were concerned about Leeds having two left-footed centre-backs alongside each other, with Liam Cooper keeping his place despite Joe Rodon returning from suspension.
Unfortunately, the game was pretty much put to bed in the first-half. Southampton scored three times. And Leeds were extremely poor in the final third.It was actually Struijk who scored Leeds’ goal to hand the visitors a lifeline. And it seems that Newsome hopes to see the Dutchman keep his place against Queens Park Rangers on Wednesday.
Struijk given some credit despite Leeds defeat
The pundit was asked whether he would make changes for the game. And after suggesting Joe Rodon should return, Newsome explained that Struijk had done enough to keep his spot, in his eyes.
“Rodon’s got to come back in. For Coops, for me,” he told BBC Radio Leeds.
“I thought Struijk did a lot better. I thought he was the one who played on the front foot. It still didn’t help us with that unbalanced bit. And he’s not comfortable coming out on the right-hand side. I thought Coops, he wasn’t at his best today.”
Rodon needs to return – alongside Dutchman
Struijk and Rodon did appear to be forming an impressive partnership before the latter got sent off against Hull City last month.
In fact, Leeds had kept three clean sheets in a row before Rodon’s red.
Cooper did well against Watford last weekend. But Southampton found it far too easy to carve Leeds open during the first-half. So something surely has to change next time out.
Admittedly, the centre-backs were not the only reason Leeds struggled. Ethan Ampadu probably had his worst game in some time. And the full-backs – who were superb against Watford – were exposed against the Saints.
But a change at the heart of the defence will surely send out a positive message as Leeds look to bounce back.
Struijk is probably the one who deserves to hold onto his spot based on his form this season
