Paudie O’Connor made his debut for Leeds United this past weekend.
Paudie O’Connor has revealed the pre-match pep talk given to him by Leeds United team-mate Pontus Jansson prior to his debut in Saturday’s 1-1 draw with Sunderland at Elland Road.
The 20-year-old partnered Jansson in the heart of the Whites’ defence for what was his first match in a Leeds shirt, having been promoted from the Under-23s by Paul Heckingbottom.
And the Irish centre-back gave a solid account of himself, earning praise from United fans on Twitter after the contest.
Jansson, a £3.6 million summer signing from Torino, captained Sweden during the international break, and O’Connor revealed that it was assuring to have such an experienced figure next to him against the Black Cats.
He told LUTV: “Yeah Pontus has been good. He’s talked me through the game and just said ‘keep doing the simple things right, be aggressive and go win your 50-50s’.
“He’s been good throughout the week as well, since I’ve gone up [into the first team].”
His debut was borne out of injuries to Liam Cooper, Conor Shaughnessy and Matthew Pennington, but O’Connor will hope to stake a claim even when Heckingbottom’s centre-back options aren’t so depleted.
Of course, it’s still very early days, but the early signs are promising and another impressive showing against Preston tomorrow would certainly enhance his reputation as the next starlet to emerge from the academy.
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