Torino have asked FIFA to investigate the completion of our signing of Pontus Jansson, while Southampton wait in the wings.
The dispute concerns the timing of the payments we need to make to Torino to convert Jansson’s season-long loan into a permanent transfer. The deal we agreed with the Italian club back in August entitled Leeds to buy the player once he’d made 22 appearances, a clause Leeds apparently asked for so we could be sure of the Swede’s fitness, as he has a history of knee problems.
Despite his many suspensions, Jansson reached that figure in the game against Nottingham Forest in January, and Torino are now claiming that the first instalment of the agreed fee of £3.5m was due there and then. But Leeds opted to defer the transfer until the summer transfer window, although we agreed a new contract with the player, which will come into effect on July 1st.
Leeds believe their agreements with the Italian side and Jansson are watertight, and say they didn’t specify any payment to Torino before the defender officially signed. As the January window was still open at the time of his 22nd appearance, the transfer could have been completed there and then, but Leeds believe we weren’t obliged to complete that deal while the loan arrangement was still in effect.
Towards the end of the season Jansson appeared to have some sort of fall-out with Garry Monk, which has yet to be fully explained, when he was dropped to the bench for a couple of games before Liam Cooper’s suspension forced our head coach to recall him to the side. We still don’t know what that was all about.
Jansson insisted he is happy at Leeds when he spoke to the Yorkshire Post. "My future is in Leeds, of course. My contract starts in July and that’s the only thing I can say. You can see how happy I am to play here and every time I go out to play a game for Leeds I always give more than 100 per cent. No-one else can say something else.”
But there have been suggestions that Southampton have taken note of Jansson’s impressive season at Elland Road, and that with the Premiership TV money the can afford to pay Torino far more than the £3.5m they would get from Leeds. So are the Italians trying to get out of the deal they made last August, so they can accept an offer from the highest bidder?