OPINION
Sheffield United’s promotion to the Premier League this weekend all but condemned Leeds United to achieve their dream via the Championship play-offs.
The Whites’ decline in form recently has obviously contributed to them surrendering their automatic promotion spot to the Blades, and the whole team must be blamed for that.
However, it seems like Leeds are now under even more pressure to get promoted this season after Football Insider reported that defender Pontus Jansson is pondering an exit from Elland Road if the club remain in the second tier for another season.
Marcelo Bielsa is surely tearing his hair out over this report, as the 28-year-old is a part of the furniture at the club – that is evident in the 39 appearances that he has made for them this term.
He is – by a long mile – one of their best defenders, and to lose the mainstay would just heap more misery onto Leeds if they were not to get promoted. Yes, he may have suffered a decline in form in the last couple of matches, but every fan will tell you that he is pivotal to the team’s success.
He puts his body on the line for Leeds, and it would be incredibly hard to replace the 6ft 4in [Transfermarkt] colossus so easily. Put it this way, they simply cannot afford to lose him any time soon.
It would leave a huge gap to be filled in the heart of the defence, a scenario that Bielsa is certainly hoping to avoid.
Without him, the Whites would not be as solid as they are in the defence, and it is a prospect that will surely have most of the fans sweating.
Either way, Leeds have to achieve promotion this season – otherwise they could be waving goodbye to one of their best players.