Pontus Jansson transfer rumours were an irritant to Leeds United as the season came to a close. Southampton links became ever stronger, despite the whole thing being based on a single scouting trip which, in reality, could have been for any player on the pitch.
Then other clubs were brought into the equation. When the Leeds United cult hero was linked with Liverpool, it made some sense given Jurgen Klopp’s weak defence. But, given the same Swedish report also claimed interest from Chelsea and Tottenham, it was clear there was some kind of PR campaign going on.
Jansson’s stock has dropped a little from a few months ago, but it would be no surprise to see a Premier League make a move, just not of the level mentioned. However, they may be met with a refusal from the central defender, who is determined to push on with Leeds United.
Back in Sweden and training with former club Malmo, Jansson was quizzed on his Leeds United experience. Fotbollskanalen quote the Elland Road favourite as saying: “The team has done well, so it’s clearly easier for me to do well personally. Playing for the national team has been a good personal development, absolutely. I built myself up in Italy but received dividends for it in England instead.
“Leeds are a fairly young team and maybe that showed close to the end and we slipped down in the final rounds, unfortunately. But it’s still a good year, Leeds got to its feet, got the fans back, and it’s a great atmosphere around the club. There have been many turbulent times. Now we start to build on something that maybe we were not ready this year, but hopefully next year.”
As it stands, Pontus Jansson sounds like he expects to be part of the battle next season.
