Jansson is a cult hero

Leeds defender Pontus Jansson is earning rave reviews for his efforts at the Championship club, but he began life as a striker. Adam Bate caught up with Roland Nilsson, the man who gave Jansson his debut, to find out more about the new Leeds favourite…

They are selling t-shirts. The Janssonator. He’s both a hashtag and verb – to be janssoned – and a must-follow for Leeds fans on Twitter. Club legend Peter Lorimer likes him. First-team coach James Beattie admits he’s “a bit of a cult hero already”. Not bad for a loan signing.

A summer arrival from Serie A side Torino, Pontus Jansson has made quite an impact at Elland Road. His tough-tackling approach has endeared him to supporters and his all-round ability has helped propel Leeds into the play-off positions under Garry Monk.

“He is very aggressive and very good with the ball,” says the manager of a player he first spotted when Swansea played Malmo in a Europa League game three years ago, and that assessment is backed up by some impressive statistics.

The 25-year-old Swede ranks among the top defenders in the Sky Bet Championship for both clearances and blocks, but he’s also in the top four centre-backs in terms of passing accuracy too. It’s a combination that’s indicative of quality.

For Roland Nilsson, a popular figure in Yorkshire himself having spent five years as a player at Sheffield Wednesday, it’s also vindication. Nilsson was not only the Malmo coach who gave Jansson his debut but also the man who transformed him from a forward into …

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