Leeds United reportedly set to sign teenage Ajax youth player

Leeds United are rumoured to be interested in yet another youth team player, with the club now raiding Ajax for a young central defender.

Pascal Strujik is a 6 foot 2 inch central defender who started his career in the ADO Den Haag youth system before transferring to Ajax. He’s made three appearances for The Netherlands U17s. If the rumours are true, don’t expect a big flourish or reveal by the club and he likely won’t get a run in the first team for awhile. However, another young defender coming through the ranks will only help the long-term plans at the club.

Leeds have been snapping up young talent from all across Europe this season. They’ve already signed Finland youth central defender Aapo Halme a few weeks ago from HJK Helsinki after signing a small army of new players during the summer.

The signing of Strujik from the legendary youth system of Ajax fits in with the overall plan that Leeds have had since Andrea Radrizzani took over the club last May. He’s forged a partnership with the Aspire Academy out of Qatar, one of the premier youth development academies in the world. Radrizzani has talked of a commitment to developing young players, and the club has responded by doing exactly that.

Victor Orta, the Leeds United Director of Football, spent most of the summer raiding the youth programs of clubs across Spain, with Leeds signing promising young players from such teams as Barcelona, Real Madrid, and Rayo Vallecano. Kun Temenzukhov, the player poached from Barcelona, was recently named as one of the top 60 prospects in the world born in the year 2000 by The Guardian.

Leeds have stocked the Academy, but will there be another signing for the first team? We’ll all just have to wait and see, but at least Leeds will have options coming through the pipeline.