Championship outfit Brentford have completed the signing of Leeds United’s centre back Pontus Jansson on a three year deal for an undisclosed fee. Reports from the Mirror states that fee is around the £5.5m mark.
That is a massive fall from grace for the Swedish defender as nobody saw this coming and he was considered as one of the fan favourites at Elland Road. With 37 starts in the Championship last season, one would have thought that he was crucial for Marcelo Bielsa as well.
Possible reasons for this feud
Reports from the Mirror states that Jansson was too much of a maverick to fit within Bielsa’s plans. The Swede defender is known to wear his heart on his sleeve, and he often conveyed how much he wants to move to the Premier League with the Whites. However, it seems to us that Bielsa thought that Jansson was too much of a loose cannon.
The same report even adds that a possible spark in their relationship was laid last summer as Bielsa wanted to see how early Jansson would return to the Leeds camp from the World Cup. The defender was entitled to return later as Sweden had reached the World Cup quarterfinals. That is probably the reason why we saw Jansson being the backup choice behind Berardi and Cooper initially.
Their relationship was tough to gauge from outside, but we got a little taste of Jansson’s rebellious nature when he tried to defend and prevent Albert Adomah from scoring when Bielsa had ordered his team to sit back and allow Aston Villa to score the goal. Jansson clearly went bonkers seeing the Argentine manager’s decision and his team-mates had to calm him down. Bielsa was so against the Swede defender after the season that he had even banned him from training at Thorp Arch.
Read More: 3 Replacements For Jansson At Leeds United That Bielsa Can Consider Including This Leicester Ace
What now for the club?
The Whites recently secured the signing of Ben White from Brighton on loan, but we don’t see him as a first team option. Therefore it is imperative for the club to look for Jansson’s replacement in the transfer market.
The White could have probably done better than the £5.5m they received for the defender, but it was clear that the club wanted to ship him away sooner rather than later. Still, they should have decent money to play with after the sale of Jack Clarke and now Jansson to look for a proven replacement for the 28-year-old.
