According to the latest reports from the Sun, Leeds United’s defender Pontus Jansson has had a dispute with Marcelo Bielsa and he has been banned from the training ground at Thorp Arch. New Premier League entrants Sheffield United are close to signing the centre back and recently relegated Fulham are also said to be interested.
The Whites recently made massive inroads in the transfer market as they secured one signing after another. However, the latest reports regarding Jansson and Bielsa row should come as a blow to the club. The Swedish defender was a regular feature for the club last season and is one of the fan favourites as well.
Bielsa: A hard taskmaster
With the club recently securing a deal for Ben White from Brighton, that might also mean that there could be a departure from the defensive area. Bielsa is known to be a strict disciplinarian, and he has had previous rows with players and the board in the past. He even went on to leave Serie A club Lazio after two days as he was made false promises initially. So one thing is clear is that its either going to be Bielsa’s way or the highway.
Therefore if Jansson has fallen on the wrong side of Bielsa, then there would likely be no way back for him in the Leeds United setup.
What now for the club?
Jansson emerged as a cult hero ever since he signed for the club in 2017. He is strong and committed in his defending and a reliable force in the air. However, one cannot ignore the fact that he was prone to making some errors and going into rash challenges now and then. Moreover, the Swedish centre back wasn’t as comfortable as Liam Cooper or even Gaetano Berardi with the ball at his feet. Therefore even though some Leeds faithful might find it hard to digest but the club can look for better centre backs in the transfer market.
The defender is still in the prime of his career and has his contract at the club runs until 2022. Therefore the Whites can demand a decent sum for him in the transfer market. We believe that they can get £8-10m for the centre back and that would be a good deal for the club.
However, the breakout of the news of the manager and player having a row isn’t a positive one as the prospective buyers would be aware that the defender isn’t wanted at the club anymore and they might try to lowball Leeds with sub-par offers. So we are likely to have an interesting time ahead in the transfer market.
