Pontus Jansson is wanted by Leicester, Newcastle and Everton in January after they were alerted to the Brentford captain’s contract situation.
Jansson’s current Brentford deal expires at the end of the season and with the 30-year-old Sweden defender’s outstanding performances this season having helped to guide the newly promoted side to a mid-table position, it is understood that has not gone unnoticed by Brentford’s Premier League rivals.
Everton and Leicester are both keen to strengthen their defences, while Newcastle manager Eddie Howe is also desperate to reinforce his squad having also shown an interest in Burnley’s James Tarkowski, another whose contract expires at the end of the season.
if he were to leave in January Brentford would be likely to demand a hefty fee for Jansson, who has started all 16 of their Premier League matches this season and scored the equaliser in their stoppage-time comeback victory over Watford on Friday night. He was signed from Leeds in July 2019 for an undisclosed fee after falling out with their manager, Marcelo Bielsa.
Before the meeting with his former side on 5 December, which ended in a 2-2 draw, Jansson described Brentford as “a smaller club than the other clubs I have played for”.
“Malmö is a massive club, and then I went to Italy to Torino, which is also a big, big club, and Leeds, crazy big club. You couldn’t almost walk into the city because everyone is a Leeds fan,” he added. “And then you move here to a smaller club. I feel the difference now that we are in the Premier League, the interest in this club is much bigger than what it was in the Championship.”