Danny Mills explains why Ben White is an ‘upgrade’ on Pontus Jansson

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Former Leeds United defender Danny Mills has been discussing the summer exit of Pontus Jansson.

The Swedish international was a fan favourite at Elland Road, thriving at the heart of defence and winning over the crowd with his larger than life personality. 

However, he was sold in the summer amid whispers of Financial Fair Play and a breakdown in his relationship with Leeds boss Marcelo Bielsa. 

Leeds sold him to Brentford and brought in Brighton defender Ben White on loan and he has excelled in his place, winning the Championship Fans’ Player of the Month for August. 

Mills, talking on talkSPORT, suggested that White is, in fact, an upgrade on Jansson, who was too busy playing up to the crowd to truly play his best football.

“His biggest problem at Leeds was he wanted to be a folk hero, he wanted to be that type of player.

“Whipping the fans into a frenzy at times and not always concentrating solely on his football. Leeds have been fortunate they’ve got Ben White who I think is an upgrade…

“He’s a good player, Jansson. He’s got a lot to offer, he just needs to calm down a little bit and concentrate on playing the game and not playing up to the crowd as much as anything else.”

TBR’s View

There is no doubt that Jansson wanted to be a fan favourite and often exhibited some odd behaviour to get noticed. The way he sat down on the pitch, alone, after the play-off defeat last season was perhaps the biggest example of what Mills is talking about. 

White has been a revelation at the back, but Leeds’ poor defending from set-pieces could certainly be down to Jansson’s missing aerial presence.

Hopefully, White can continue to shine at the back for Leeds and help them sort their set-piece defensive woes out as soon as possible. 

If not, many will wonder why Jansson had to go.