Major Leeds Utd transfer U-turn as defender pursuit is abandoned to relieve Daniel Farke

Club Brugge have looked at Leeds United defender Pascal Struijk recently but will not be pursuing him this week despite the Belgian transfer window remaining open.

That’s according to Het Nieuwsblad, which explains how Club Brugge has recently considered strengthening their defense. Struijk was born in Belgium and has been considered by the Jupiler Pro League club.

Struijk was identified in July as a target for Club Brugge, which is led by former Celtic manager Ronny Deila. He appears to have been on their radar until lately.

The Belgian transfer market is still open until Wednesday, giving Club Brugge the possibility to sign Struijk from Leeds if they so desire.

However, Het Nieuwsblad has confirmed that the move will not take place this week. Club Brugge has opted not to sign a centre-back for a number of reasons.

For one thing, they will no longer compete in the Champions League and will instead compete in the Europa Conference League, which will have an impact on their budget.

Deila is also eager to give a platform for young defenders Jorne Spileers and Joel Ordonez. With that in mind, Club Brugge is content to wait until January to see how things progress.

It remains to be seen whether they will make another bid for Struijk by then or consider other options. The 24-year-old is under contract with Leeds until 2027, and his most recent extension was signed less than a year ago.

Struijk could have become part of Leeds exodus

Leeds have since been relegated from the Premier League, which has resulted in a devastating amount of departures from their squad during the summer transfer window.

They bid farewell to Robin Koch, Maximilian Wober, Diego Llorente, and Ramsus Kristensen in Struijk’s defensive territory.

As a result, it would have been a setback for Daniel Farke to be without another defensive option, as he has done in all seven of their matches this season.

Leeds strengthened their defense during the English transfer window by bringing in Joe Rodon, Djed Spence, Ethan Ampadu, and Sam Byram.