Ex-Leeds United star Andy Ritchie is of the opinion that Kyle Bartley has been as equally impressive as fellow summer signing Pontus Jansson, with the Swansea City loanee even overshadowing the Sweden international in some matches.
Jansson, who was snapped up by Leeds from Torino on a season-long loan deal in the summer, has played in the Whites’ last six Championship games, striking up a solid central defensive partnership with Bartley.
In those six games, the Yorkshire giants conceded just four goals and managed to keep two clean sheets.
Jansson has been majorly credited for Leeds’ defensive stability in recent games, but Ritchie feels Bartley’s contributions are also equally noteworthy.
The former forward went on to add that Bartley has even outshone Jansson on some occasions, as was the case during Leeds’ 2-1 win over Barnsley earlier in the month.
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“Pontus Jannson is getting a lot of plaudits for his performances at Leeds United, but I have got to say that Kyle Bartley has also been fantastic – and for me, he outshone Jansson in the Barnsley game last weekend”, he wrote in his column in the Yorkshire Evening Post.
“I thought that Bartley was great all day. And at the end, he really kept it together in getting his head on everything and was marshalling everyone for me.
“To be fair, everyone was telling me that Jansson was the person who had done that before and was bringing the performances out of people with his enthusiasm, if you like. Jansson did the little ‘step overs’ a couple of times to really get the crowd going also and you need those characters.
“Let’s face it, there aren’t many characters left in the game, are there. But for me, Bartley was just brilliant in those last 15 minutes.
“Looking at Leeds with those two, they look to have a bit of steeliness at the back now and they have just got to get it going forward-wise now.”
Bartley, who is currently on a season-long loan deal from Swansea, has thus far made 13 appearances in all competitions for Leeds.
