Summary

Journalist Conor McGilligan is not worried about Maximilian Wober's potential Leeds United exit and believes the club already have a capable replacement in Pascal Struijk.

Is Wober leaving Leeds?

Having been omitted from Leeds' squad to face Monaco in the club's 2-0 pre-season friendly defeat, new boss Daniel Farke admitted that Wober's absence was due to a potential departure.

The German coach stated after the match: "Max Wober (absence) is to do with the transfer situation and also the contract situation and we will wait and see what the outcome is over the next days."

Despite having only arrived from RB Salzburg in January last season, a move that set Leeds back approximately £11m, the Austrian may already be leaving Yorkshire having failed to help keep the Whites in the Premier League.

The centre-back has been linked with Farke's former club Borussia Monchengladbach, a move that may be too tempting for Wober to turn down given Leeds' Championship status.

However, despite the reaction of some supporters, journalist McGilligan is not "bothered" by Wober's exit and believes that current Leeds defender Struijk is a better long-term option anyway.

Speaking on his YouTube channel, McGilligan said: "Someone like Wober at Championship level, he's only been at Leeds six months, £10m – I think he will attract attention.

He added: "Am I bothered about Wober in the Championship? No. Am I bothered about losing him? No.

"What we need to understand is that now just because he's potentially leaving Leeds United, and this is off the back of Daniel Farke saying yesterday that he's involved in some transfer thing at the minute hence why he wasn't involved yesterday, which is evidently him paraphrasing him saying he's leaving the club, you know was he good enough before you found out, in your opinion, that he was potentially leaving yesterday?

"You know, was he good enough for the Championship? Of course he's good enough, but is it just this transfer now that suddenly now everyone's turning around and going he's not good enough? I've sort of stayed consistent constant with Wober, he's alright, he's a decent player. He's hyped up way too much."

McGilligan went on to voice his opinions when comparing Wober to Struijk, the latter currently looking set to stay with Leeds, and he believes that Struijk has a much higher "ceiling" than Wober.

"I've always said this one here, Pascal Stuijk, it's been such a shame with what's happened to him as a left-sided centre-back because the ceiling that he's had.

"Struijk's ceiling, if you can get him playing, if you can get Pascal Struijk with that mentality that he had under that period under Marcelo Bielsa for around about 12 to 18 months, if you can get him playing like that again, if you're able to beef up some of his attributes when it comes to his mentality, his physicality and his leadership skills as well if he's got some locked down there, he's a much better player in my opinion [than Wober]."

Wober managed 19 games for Leeds last season and made a positive impact in an albeit leaky defence, impressing supporters with his attitude and commitment to the cause. That commitment looks less significant now with the 25-year-old set to call time on his short stint at Elland Road.

Meanwhile, Struijk has been at Leeds since 2018 and has risen from the U21s into the first team. He made 31 appearances in all competitions last term for the Whites and has been used as both a left-back and centre-back by the club, often failing to find consistent form.

Who is better – Wober or Struijk?

When comparing the two in the Premier League last season, it's obvious that Struijk has a lot more experience at the highest level despite being two years younger than Wober, although he did feature mainly at left-back last term. He played 29 matches to Wober's 16 – just under two times as many.

However, both defenders share similar numbers when it comes to blocks, interceptions and clearances, despite Wober playing far less. The Austrian also boasts a 1.4% better successful tackle percentage and looks the more developed player at present.

Struijk does pose a more attacking threat though, scoring twice and getting one assist, while Wober failed to register any goal contribution in the top flight. The 23-year-old also has a superior pass accuracy (79.2% to 70.6%), showcasing that he is more comfortable with the ball at his feet and progressing play.

Given his age and more modern defensive style, Struijk is perhaps the better long-term option for Leeds to invest in.