Leeds United boss Garry Monk has recalled the night he spotted Pontus Jansson.
Bologna’s Filip Helander in action with Roma’s Mohamed Salah
Leeds United manager Garry Monk has told BBC Radio Leeds that he spotted Pontus Jansson during Swansea’ s Europa League ties with Malmo – and inadvertently praised Filip Helander too.
Back in 2013, Swansea’s Capital One Cup final win over Bradford City saw them reach the qualifying rounds of the Europa League, where they were pitted against Swedish side Malmo.
Swansea ran out 4-0 winners on aggregate, and the games ended up aiding former Swans defender Garry Monk in the transfer market last summer, as he looked to improve his Leeds squad.
Monk landed defender Pontus Jansson on loan from Torino, and the Swedish international has become a popular figure at Elland Road, even agreeing a permanent move at the end of the season.
Now, Monk has told BBC Radio Leeds that he remembered how good Jansson was against Swansea as he plotted to bring the Swede to West Yorkshire, and claims he was also impressed by Jansson’s centre back partner Filip Helander.
“I remember we played Malmo over two legs, and he played in that game,” said Monk. “Of course, at the time I was a player, and being a centre half, whenever we played opposition and I wasn’t playing , I would always look at the other centre halves, just naturally. I’d study them a little bit, see if I thought they were good players, or if they mistakes or what they did well, and I remember him from those games.”
“I remember thinking at the time that I thought that he was a good player, along with the partner that he was playing with,” he added.
Having signed Jansson off the back of his performance against Swansea, Helander could have been on his radar too – and with Kyle Bartley set to return to parent club Swansea at the end of the season, another centre back could be needed.
England’s Danny Ings and Sweden’s Filip Helander and Victor Lindelof of Sweden
Helander, 23, left Malmo in 2015 to join Hellas Verona, but left after their relegation last summer in order to join Bologna, where he has started just seven Serie A games, with only four appearances in 2017.
The Swede may look for more first-team football this summer, and Leeds could do worse than push to reunite Jansson with his former centre back partner Helander, who is a strong, aerially dominant defender.
Monk has already admitted himself that he was impressed with Helander four years ago, whilst his assistant Pep Clotet worked closely with both Jansson and Helander having previously served as Malmo’s assistant boss.
Helander is in a similar situation to Jansson last year – struggling for first-team football in Italy and potentially in need of a summer move away. With Leeds possibly in the market for a defender, pairing Jansson and Helander again could be a smart move if Monk really was impressed with the pair against Swansea in 2013.
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