Pontus Jansson has undoubtedly emerged as a crucial player for Leed United this season. The Swede is also one of the fan favourites at the club as he is often showing great commitment and desire on the pitch and he has confessed various times on how desperately he wants to move to the Premier League with the Whites.
Jansson recently pulled out from Sweden’s national team because of injury, and it was believed that he could miss the next two fixtures for the Whites which was going to be against the likes of Millwall and Birmingham City. However, Phil Hay of Yorkshire Evening Post recently gave a massive update on the defender’s situation. He wrote, ”Jansson could unexpectedly retain his place (against Millwall).”
The defender has reportedly made impressive progress in the last few days and is now fighting to be fit in time for Saturday’s clash against Millwall. The 28-year-old centre back’s return to the starting eleven would be a massive boost for the club as the race for Premier League promotion enters its crucial phase.
Gaetano Berardi was likely going to be his obvious replacement, but the Swiss defender hasn’t played for the first team for months now. It would have been a huge responsibility for him to fill in Jansson’s shoes. He still might have to start against Millwall as Jansson’s situation is touch and go at the moment.
Nevertheless, the return of the Swedish defender is a massive boost for Bielsa as every game is going to be like a cup final from here onwards. The West Yorkshire outfit recently went down to Sheffield United at home which saw them slip down to the third spot. Both the teams would want to finish in the automatic promotion zone as the playoffs can be a tricky business given the run of form clubs like Aston Villa are in at the moment.
Jansson started the season as the backup option as Bielsa preferred the partnership of Berardi and Liam Cooper. The fact that the 28-year-old joined the squad late in the summer due to World Cup commitments played a massive role in that, and he would have been disappointed to miss out in the early part of the season.
However, after Berardi’s injury, Jansson got his chance to prove his worth, and he has done well at the back. Now United would hope that all their key players remain fit for the final run in what could be the biggest achievement for the Whites in over a decade.
