Noel Whelan has suggested that Leeds United defender Pontus Jansson could be departing Elland Road during the summer transfer window.
Jansson has been a key performer this season under Marcelo Bielsa, making 39 appearances for Leeds as they finished third in the Championship, but the Sweden international was not involved in either leg of the Whites’ play-off semi-final against Derby County due to an ankle injury.
Whelan is confident that Jansson could now be interesting some Premier League clubs this summer, although the former Leeds striker admitted he has reservations about how the 28-year-old would perform in the English top flight.
“I think Jansson will leave and possibly for around the £10million mark. I’m sure some Premier League clubs might take a chance on him, some of the lowers ones or the teams that have just gone up (Norwich and Sheffield United),” Whelan told Football Insider.
“Personally, I don’t think he is Premier League quality. Yes, he plays for Sweden. But too many Premier League forwards will pick at his weaknesses.”
“He will struggle in the Premier League. I’m sure he will get an opportunity to move and I definitely think he will be leaving the club.”
OPINION
Jansson has been a very influential figure at Leeds since he arrived on loan from Torino in 2016, before going on to make the move permanent in a £3million deal. The 28-year-old has been a key part in the Leeds sides that challenged for promotion from the Championship finishing seventh under Garry Monk in the 2016/17 season, and now third this campaign under Bielsa. However, with Leeds missing out on promotion again the Sweden international might, as Whelan rightly suggests, be a target for premier League clubs that are either near the bottom of the table or have just been promoted. It is interesting to see that Whelan thinks that Jansson would struggle if he makes the move to the English top flight this summer, but you can understand why he feels this might be the case with the Premier League being a massive step up in quality from the Championship. It would be very intriguing to see how Jansson performs if he does secure a move to a higher level this summer, but one things is for sure he would be a difficult player for Leeds to replace so they would probably be wanting any move to happen early in the window, so they can scout and secure a replacement.