Report: Leeds striker Marcus Antonsson’s loan deal not believed to include recall clause

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Leeds United striker Marcus Antonsson is enjoying a fantastic loan spell with Blackburn Rovers.

Any hope that some Leeds fans may have had that Thomas Christiansen would try and bring Marcus Antonsson back from his loan spell at Blackburn during the January transfer window appears to have been dashed, with the Yorkshire Evening Post reporting that the deal that was agreed with Blackburn is not believed to include a recall clause.

Antonsson has endured a mixed time since arriving in England. He arrived having been lethal for Kalmar, and looked bright during his first few appearances for the Whites – scoring in the Yorkshire derby with Sheffield Wednesday – but a change in system that suited the majority of the team appeared to hurt the Swede with Garry Monk preferring to use Chris Wood as the sole striker.

In the same system, Antonsson looked poor, and his cause was often not helped when he did get a rare chance – he was one of the players who featured in the FA Cup defeat to Sutton United.

The 26-year-old left for Ewood Park on a season-long loan in the summer, and has shown exactly why the Championship side did decide to sign him the previous summer, with seven goals coming in 16 league appearances for Rovers, including four in his last four for Tony Mowbray’s men.

With Leeds’ striker situation likely to leave many supporters urging Christiansen to go out and target a new goalscorer in January if possible – it could certainly be argued that none of the options currently available to the Dane have really made themselves undroppable – some may have wanted Antonsson to be recalled and given another chance.

However, the Yorkshire Evening Post reports that it is not thought that Antonsson’s loan deal with Blackburn includes a recall clause, meaning that he is set to be with the club until the summer.

Christiansen may have no desire to bring the forward back anyway, but if he did wish he had Antonsson in his ranks, his loan deal arguably puts him in a tricky situation.

Given the struggles that some of his strikers have endured at times, he would surely love to bring another attacking option in during January if the right player became available – but if that player is signed permanently, that may perhaps leave Antonsson even further down the pecking order when he returns to the club next summer.