Why Bartley should choose Leeds over Reading

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Swansea City centre-back Kyle Bartley is in demand with Championship duo Leeds United and Reading both reportedly plotting moves.

You do not need a PHD in psychology to work out why Kyle Bartley is keen on a return to Leeds United this summer, as reported by the Yorkshire Evening Post.

The 26-year-old centre-back has gone through his entire career without ever really finding any consistency, embarking on six different loan spells at four different clubs since 2010.

But that excellent 2016/17 season at Leeds was the most impressive campaign of Bartley’s life as a professional and finally gave him the chance to show what he can do when given a run of games in a settled side.

Bartley was excellent at centre-back alongside the powerhouse Pontus Jansson, Leeds finishing seventh and conceding just 47 goals. This season, since Bartley returned to parent club Swansea, the Whites ended up 13th with 64 goals in the against column.

The Yorkshire Evening Post states that Leeds are dreaming of re-signing Bartley this summer. And you could hardly forgive him for wanting to return to the club where he was at his best, even if the manager and the owner has changed since he was last there.

So Leeds is surely the better option, even if his former Swansea City manager Paul Clement has been tipped to take him to Reading, as reported by the Reading Chronicle.

If Leeds had a bad season, Reading’s was a nightmare. One year on from reaching the play-off final, the Royals had to wait until the final day to secure their survival and only the bottom four conceded more goals than them this season.

Bartley would arrive at Reading under pressure to completely change their defensive fortunes. Whereas at Leeds he could settle back into that familiar partnership with Jansson.

Reading is a risk while Leeds seems like the perfect fit.