Marcelo Bielsa continued to remain coy on Pontus Jansson’s Leeds United exit, as the Swede prepares for his return to Elland Road.
Jansson will be in the Brentford lineup on Wednesday night in the clash between Championship promotion hopefuls.
The Swedish international defender left Leeds in a £5.5million deal during the summer, despite Bielsa’s insistence that he was the side’s best player during the 2018-19 campaign.
The 28-year-old clashed with the Argentine following the decision to let Aston Villa score during a controversial encounter on the final day of the regular season.
Injury then saw Jansson sit out the first leg of the play-off semi-final against Derby, before being left on the bench - despite being fit - in the second leg.
Bielsa has said little about Jansson’s departure, but is understood to have wanted rid of the centre-half as soon as possible during the summer after a breakdown in their relationship.
Asked about Jansson’s exit again before the start of the campaign, Bielsa stated: “You have to take care of the club.”
Speaking ahead of tonight’s encounter, Bielsa again refused to go into details about his exit, and called for fans to give Jansson a good reception.
“He deserves to be received with the right reception for him,” said Bielsa. “He was the best player of the team last season.
“I cannot talk about the previous years because I wasn’t working with him but he did a high level last season.
“I appreciate what he gave to the team.
“I think that the fans are going to be fair and they are going to recognise what Jansson did here for the club.”
