Leeds dropping Gaetano Berardi would be harsh after Pontus Jansson’s display

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Gaetano Berardi has started both of Leeds United’s Championship games so far, while Pontus Jansson appeared in the Carabao Cup clash.

If there was one player in Marcelo Bielsa’s squad that Leeds fans have possibly been slightly underwhelmed with from their opening two Championship games, it may well be Gaetano Berardi.

The Whites cult-hero has been used at centre-back alongside Liam Cooper as Pontus Jansson continues to try and get back up to speed following the World Cup. He has generally done well, but there have been moments that appear to have left some of the supporters feeling slightly concerned about his suitability for that role.

It appears inevitable that Jansson will come into Bielsa’s strongest lineup at some stage in the near future, but he had the perfect chance to accelerate that process on Tuesday night as he was given the nod to play against Bolton in the Carabao Cup.

Jansson did not appear in pre-season, so it was always going to be a difficult game for the Swede to shine in. And unfortunately for the 27-year-old, it appears that his lack of game-time may have potentially cost him the chance to stake a real claim to Bielsa that he should be picked ahead of Berardi against Rotherham this weekend.

Jansson looked rusty during the first-half, making a couple of questionable clearances and perhaps not moving the ball as rapidly as some of his teammates had in the wins over Stoke City and Derby County.

He undoubtedly looked much more like his old self in the second-half however, making a couple of excellently-timed challenges and reading the game significantly better.

The performance after the break was definitely the sort of comeback that suggests that Jansson may not be far away from being ready to become the latest player almost transformed by what Bielsa is looking to do, but perhaps it would be fair to say that the centre-back did not manage to make the head coach’s mind up for him with his display.

Jansson seemed to show enough quality to suggest that it would not be a controversial decision if Bielsa reunites him with Cooper at the weekend. But perhaps there were enough question marks there in his display against Bolton to suggest that it would be extremely harsh not to give Berardi another chance on Saturday.