Credit: Manh Tung, Breaking Media

Jacob Raw

Sat 11 April 2026 19:40, UK

Leeds United star Pascal Struijk has emerged as Daniel Farke‘s best player to make first contact from long throws.

The Whites are approaching the run-in for their Premier League campaign and quickly need to shake off the focus on an exciting trip to Wembley.

Farke has many ways that he can hurt teams, and has shown, perhaps for the first time at Elland Road, his capability of being adaptable.

Leeds have shown their ability to defend and create their own chaos from long throws this season, but there is a key reason for them to double down on it, as if they are corners.

Struijk’s goal-scoring ability has been seen in LS11, but the findings prove that the Dutchman has more to give in the opposition’s box.

Pascal Struijk among Premier League stars for long throw stat

According to The Athletic, Leeds’ best player at making first contact in both boxes from a long throw-in is Struijk.

Crystal Palace Maxence Lacroix leads the way, but Farke’s star defender is firmly in the list for the best players in the Premier League for this specific stat reveal.

As seen in the table above, the 26-year-old is well in the list for some of the best performers in this area, which makes it a crime that Farke hasn’t opted to use long throws more often.

Struijk has been top class for Leeds this season, and the only thing that has been missing from his game is goals.

However, Leeds fans will know that the centre-half is fully able to grab a goal or two, but he needs to be given the license and guidance to attack the ball with his head more often.

How bad has Struijk underperformed in front of goal?

We have seen, particularly in the last two seasons, just how good Struijk can be in and around the six-yard box, and of course, from the penalty spot.

However, sometimes defenders just need that one effort to hit the back of the net to get confidence when attacking set-pieces.

Struijk’s attacking stats:

• Shots: 25
• Goals: Zero
• xG: 2.51

Now that the defender got his moment when he buried his penalty in the shootout win against West Ham recently, maybe he can start adding some goals for the run-in.

His stats in front of the goal aren’t the best right now, and he is underperforming, but confidence and tactics go a long way.