A 12-word tweet announced Pontus Jansson’s exit from Leeds United; no frills, no explanation and no affectionate goodbye. As ever with transfers, the less a club says the more you can infer about the politics behind a parting of ways.



Jansson’s departure was coming and no mistake after a disagreement over the timing of his return for pre-season but the speed and price of his sale to Brentford had the hallmarks of an uneasy partnership which neither camp wanted to prolong. Jansson was cast as a Premier League footballer in waiting during three years at Elland Road but took the offer of a move to a rival Championship team with more than a month of the transfer window to go. “I felt early on that Brentford was right for me,” he said.



Leeds felt the same, even though Brentford’s payment of £5.5 million was lower than Jansson’s perceived value and half the fee offered by Russian club Krasnodar a year earlier. There was interest...