Leeds United announced on their official website on Wednesday that defender Pontus Jansson had committed his long-term future to the club by signing a new five-year deal.
The Sweden international only joined the Yorkshire outfit on a permanent basis during the summer following an impressive season-long loan spell from Torino in the 2016/17 campaign, but the Whites have moved quickly to tie him down to a lengthier contract.
Thomas Christiansen’s men have made a positive start to the season and are right in the promotion race, and they currently lie fourth in the Championship standings after ending a run of three straight defeats on the road with a 3-0 win against Bristol City last weekend.
While Jansson has made 47 appearances in all competitions for United, scoring three goals, the club may have made an error by handing the centre-back improved terms.
Here are three reasons Leeds were wrong to hand the 26-year-old a five-year deal…
Loss of motivation
It would be difficult for Leeds supporters or the club’s hierarchy to argue against the fact that the majority of Jansson’s best performances for the Yorkshire outfit came when he was trying to earn a permanent move to Elland Road last season.
Since it was announced in February that the transfer was definitely going to go through during the summer, the 26-year-old hasn’t been at the same consistent level he was at previously, but could it be simply down to a loss of form, or perhaps even a lack of motivation?
His showings certainly dropped off towards the end of the 2016/17 campaign as the Whites disappointingly missed out on a play-off position, and things haven’t got much better for him from a personal point of view this term.
This season
Despite losing last season’s centre-back partner Kyle Bartley back to Swansea City following a loan spell, Jansson would have hoped to have kicked on at Elland Road this season, but it hasn’t really happened for the Swede.
While the Yorkshire outfit made a positive start to the campaign and kept six successive Championship clean sheets between August and September, he was also part of the defence that lost three straight league games before being dropped to the substitutes’ bench against Bristol City on Saturday.
The 26-year-old was given a chance to stake his claim for a recall against Leicester City in the EFL Cup on Tuesday night, but he failed to take it and could miss out again against Sheffield United on Friday.
Premier League quality
While many Leeds supporters and probably the club would have believed that Jansson was definitely Premier League quality following some of his performances last season, they may be having second thoughts based on some of his more recent showings.
The 26-year-old currently looks nervous and isn’t the commanding and dominant player that he has shown he can be before, and the fact that he struggled to cope with the Foxes’ second-choice strike pairing on Tuesday is hardly a glowing endorsement of his ability.
The Whites will be aiming for promotion to the top flight this season and if they achieve it there will be worries that Jansson isn’t good enough to make the step up, in which case handing him a five-year deal could prove to be a huge error.
Do you agree, Leeds fans? Let us know below.
