Brighton & Hove Albion have completed the signing of centre-back Pascal Struijk from Leeds United.The Athletic reported on June 27 that the two sides had agreed a deal for the 26-year-old Dutch defender.Leeds sources, speaking on the condition of anonymity as they are not permitted to do so publicly, claim they will receive a £18million with a potential £2m in add-ons while Brighton sources say, also anonymously, that the figure is closer to a £15m guaranteed with £3m in add-ons.Brighton needed to bring in defensive reinforcement after Jan Paul van Hecke departed for Tottenham Hotspur on a £52m deal earlier this month.Struijk’s contract was due to expire in 2027, meaning he would have left as a free agent had Leeds not tied him to new terms or sold him.The defender was a crucial part of Daniel Farke’s side in the 2025-26 season, playing 34 league games and captaining the team on multiple occasions as they avoided relegation by an eventual eight points.
Struijk joined Leeds as a youth player from Ajax in 2018. He made his debut in the Championship the following season and has played a total of 196 games for the west Yorkshire side.Brighton have made multiple offers for Tottenham Hotspur defender Luka Vuskovic, in their desite to strengthen their back line. The Athletic reported they improved on their initial £30m bid on June 19, while the Croatia international has been at the World Cup.Fabian Hurzeler’s side finished eighth in the 2025-26 Premier League, qualifying for next season’s Conference League.What can Brighton expect from Struijk?Pascal Struijk is a left-footed centre-back. He has played at left-back for Leeds in the past, but he is far more accomplished on the left of central defence.He is a ball-playing defender with an eye for a long-range pass into attack. At 6ft 3in, he is strong, relishes duels with strikers and is a huge threat in the air.Team-mates have referred to Struijk as a ball magnet at set pieces in the opposition penalty box down the years. While he drew a rare blank throughout last season, he has developed a reputation for burying headers at United.The only question marks hanging over Struijk are his injury record and the occasional error in his game. There was an improvement in the former last season, as he started 33 of the club’s 38 Premier League matches, but across 2023-24 and 2024-25, he only started 53 of the Championship’s 92 regular season fixtures.Struijk was guilty of arguably the gravest error Leeds made in defence last season. A sloppy touch at Wembley, in the FA Cup semi-final, was punished by Chelsea in a tight match decided by that one goal.
