Leeds United reportedly want to sign Tottenham Hotspur defender Juan Foyth on loan during the January transfer window.
Leeds have potentially been handed another injury blow with the Yorkshire Evening Post reporting this week that Pontus Jansson has withdrawn from Sweden’s squad for this international break.
Jansson sustained a foot injury in the defeat to West Brom on Saturday. And while he carried on after the challenge that forced him to receive treatment, he will not feature for his country – and Leeds will now be extremely concerned.
The Yorkshire Evening Post reports that the Whites are yet to ascertain how serious the problem is. But it is probably not too far wide of the mark to suggest that Bielsa being told that Jansson will be available for Bristol City could be amongst the best pieces of news he could get during this break.
Unfortunately for Leeds, they cannot afford to have another defender sidelined for a lengthy spell. Luke Ayling and Gaetano Berardi are both out for substantial periods, and Jansson joining them would leave Liam Cooper as the only senior centre-back available for the time-being.
Even if Jansson is back swiftly, the scare arguably provides another reason why Leeds must strengthen their options in January. Unfortunately, the player reportedly on Bielsa’s radar must surely now be considered out of the Whites’ reach.
AS Argentina reported last month that Leeds were eyeing a January loan move for Tottenham’s Juan Foyth. At the time, Foyth was still awaiting his Premier League debut despite arriving in the summer of 2017, so it seemed to be a deal that would have suited all parties.
However, it appears just as Leeds’ need for Foyth has seemingly increased, that the Championship high-flyers now have virtually no chance of getting a deal done.
Foyth has made three first-team appearances for Spurs this term, and all have come since the Leeds report emerged. He was man of the match against West Ham in the Carabao Cup and repeated the trick when he scored the winning goal against Crystal Palace at the weekend.
Even in the win at Wolves when he gave away two penalties, he received a lot of praise from the Spurs fans for his performance and a lot of sympathy – with many feeling that his teammates’ mistakes forced Foyth into the errors.
The young centre-back has quickly turned his fortunes around, and if he continues on his current path, there seems absolutely no way that he will be available by the time the January window opens. And given the luck that Leeds’ defenders have had with injury this season, that could prove to a real blow for Bielsa.
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