Malmö FF’s Pontus Jansson has told Fotbollskanalen that he’s held talks with Aston Villa goalkeeper Robin Olsen about the Swedish club.
On Monday, Expressen reported Malmö are making a serious attempt for the 34-year-old stopper in January.
The Aston Villa player knows Malmö very well as he had two spells with them in the past. The first was with their academy between 1997 and 2000, and the second was with their senior team between 2012 and 2015.
Jansson knows the Sweden international from their time at Malmö and the national team. The 33-year-old centre-back has revealed he’s close friends with the Villans goalkeeper.
Malmö sealed a 2-1 win over IFK Gothenburg on Monday and the former Brentford man played the full 90 minutes. After the tie, he had a chat with Fotbollskanalen discussing his side’s latest performance.
Fotbollskanalen then pointed out to him about the latest claims about his side’s interest in signing his compatriot. Jansson insists he doesn’t need to put in extra effort to convinces Olsen.
“I don’t think I need to persuade him, but we know each other well, so we’ll see what happens,” he said.
When quizzed if he had held talks with Olsen, Jansson explained: “He’s one of my closest friends, so we talk a lot, sometimes a bit of MFF [Malmö] too, but not too much.”
Olsen hasn’t made an appearance this season as he’s behind Emiliano Martínez and Joe Gauci at Aston Villa. The Swede’s deal expires next June and Unai Emery’s side could cash in from his sale in the winter market.
