Leeds to pay multi-million pound fee to sign 25-year-old in the summer – report
By Harry Sykes
Leeds are due to pay £3.5million to Torino in the summer when Pontus Jansson officially becomes a player for the club, according to a report.
The Yorkshire Evening Post claim that the fee for Jansson will not be payable until he completes a permanent transfer.
Leeds announced on Thursday night that the Sweden international, 25, has signed a three-year contract that will come into effect when his season-long loan from Torino ends.
The Championship giants announced on their official website and social media channels that Jansson is tied to an agreement that expires in the summer of 2020.
However, the Yorkshire Evening Post report that Leeds will not have to pay the money to Serie A club Torino until his season-long expires in May.
This once again highlights the lack of transfer spend from the new Elland Road board in the January window, with wingers Modou Barrow and Alfonso Pedraza signing on loan for the remainder of the season and playmaker Pablo Hernandez converting his loan into a permanent deal that runs until the end of the campaign.
Leeds’ option to take Jansson permanently from the Italian league was triggered by his 22nd appearance for the club in their 2-0 win against Nottingham Forest last week.
The Elland Road hierarchy insisted on an appearance-related clause in the initial loan deal as a means of fully assessing the fitness of Jansson, who suffered from knee problems in the two seasons preceding his arrival in the English league.
The Sweden international has overcome again concerns about his fitness to play an integral role in Leeds’ transformation from mid-table mediocrity to genuine promotion candidates.
His 88th-minute header against Blackburn banked another precious Championship win, keeping Leeds on course for the play-offs, but his defensive contribution was equally important, amounting to 15 individual clearances.
Jansson has established a hugely impressive centre-back partnership with Kyle Bartley, who is on a season-long loan from Swansea.
Leeds recruited Pedraza and Barrow from Villarreal and Swansea as Monk continued to make use of his connections with his former club.
Both players have been cleared to make their debuts away at Huddersfield Town on Sunday in what is an eagerly anticipated Yorkshire derby that pits the fourth-placed side against the one in fifth.
In other Leeds transfer news, the club came within a whisker of signing this goal machine on deadline day after holding extensive talks.
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