Leeds bombshell: Monk shares why Jansson was omitted from XI against Brighton
By Alex Stevens
Garry Monk has revealed that Pontus Jansson was dropped from the Leeds team that beat Brighton 2-0 on Saturday.
Supporters and pundits were shocked that the Sweden international was omitted from the starting X1 in favour of the error-prone Liam Cooper and assumed he was carrying an injury or unwell.
But Cooper proved his doubters wrong as a new-look back four kept second-placed Brighton at bay without Jansson and fellow mainstay Luke Ayling, who was unavailable due to suspension.
Monk explained afterwards that Jansson, who was an unused substitute as Leeds maintained their promotion charge, was fully fit and available for selection.
“Number one, I’ll always do what I feel is best for the team,” said Monk, as quoted by the personal Twitter account of Yorkshire Evening Post correspondent Phil Hay, as it was reported that the manager felt Cooper and Kyle Bartley were the best combination on the day.
“That goes for who we’re playing against, the set-up, but also the principles we have to follow on a daily basis.”
Manager Garry Monk gave no indication in the build-up to the match that Jansson might miss out, with the bombshell news delivered an hour before kick-off.
The Sweden international looked to be in fine shape as he took part in the pre-match warm-up with his fellow substitutes before kick-off.
Jansson has forged an outstanding centre-back partnership with fellow loanee Bartley this season that has laid the foundations for the team’s promotion charge.
Jansson has started 28 of Leeds’ 38 Championship matches since joining from Torino initially on a season-long loan last summer.
The defender has been such a success for the fourth-placed team that he has agreed to join Leeds on a permanent contract when he loan expires in May.
Leeds’ win over Brighton kept alive their hopes of automatic promotion, although they remain eight points adrift of the second-placed side with eight matches of the campaign remaining.
In other Leeds team news, the Yorkshire giants are in shock talks to sign a Liverpool attacking player.
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