The former Barnsley defender joined Swansea City in the summer after being linked with Leeds United.
Defence has often been the best form of attack for Leeds United this season. While Chris Wood is currently cruising along at the top of the Championship goal charts, the fact that Garry Monk’s side are odds on for a first chance in the play-offs for over a decade is a testament to the oft-impenetrable partnership of Pontus Jansson and Kyle Bartley.
The duo, signed from Torino and Swansea City respectively, possess that perfect combination of combativeness and class and even if Leeds suffer heart-break in the promotion lottery, few could argue that Bartley or Jansson are anything other than Premier League quality.
Therefore, despite his excellent performances for Swansea City and his seamless transition to the top flight, Leeds’ failure to land Alfie Mawson in the summer has hardly proved devastating.
The Daily Star claimed that the Barnsley centre-back was a priority for their Yorkshire rivals, only for the bright lights of the Premier League encouraging Mawson to put pen to paper on a £5 million move to the South Welsh club, the Daily Mail reports.
And, although Swansea have the worst defensive record in the Premier League, the 23-year-old has been a pillar of consistency since Paul Clement took charge in January, his no-nonsense defending helping the club climb out of the relegation zone.
You could argue that his displays suggest he would have been an excellent addition to Leeds’ squad. Whether he would have cemented a place in the starting XI, however, is another matter entirely.
It’s a credit to the performances of both Jansson and Bartley that Mawson, one of the most astute signings in this Premier League season, may have had to settle for a place on the bench had he chosen Leeds.
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