It is seven years to the day that Leeds United confirmed the permanent signing of defender Pontus Jansson from Italian side Torino – and the Swedish giant sent a message to Leeds fans on Twitter.
Jansson, now 32, joined Leeds initially on loan from Torino in the summer of 2016. Making a very quick impact on the pitch in terms of his rock-solid displays, and relationship with the fans, Leeds signed him.
On February 2 2017, Jansson agreed to sign permanently – the option in his loan from Torino activated, costing the club £3.5m. He spent three years at Leeds, playing 120 times and even scoring nine goals.
He had his own song, fans loved him and he initially starred under Marcelo Bielsa. But then came that incident against Aston Villa in which Bielsa ordered Leeds to allow Albert Adomah to score against us.
Jansson didn’t agree – and that summer, he was sold for what the club claimed was to help Financial Fairplay. He joined Brentford, lasting four years there, before returning to boyhood club Malmo last July.
Pontus Jansson sends message to Leeds United fans on Friday
Leeds is a club renowned for being the kind of institution that when a player leaves, they remain a fan of the side. Connor Roberts is just about to learn that, after completing a deadline-day move from Burnley.
Clearly, despite the controversy of joining a rival in Brentford in 2019, Jansson is still very much a big fan of Leeds. A Leeds fan account posted on Twitter, saying it was seven years since he joined permanently.
Jansson responded, posting a four-word message to Leeds fans – reminiscing on the three years he had at Leeds. He is preparing for the Swedish season to begin again, in late March, with his beloved Malmo.
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