Leeds United defender Pontus Jansson has revealed he has always been a firm fan of Brazil international Thiago Silva, who he watched regularly at Paris Saint-Germain during Zlatan Ibrahimovic's time at the French giants.
Jansson, a firm fan favourite at Leeds, started life as a striker, but switched to defence at Malmo when there was a chance to slot into the side due to a shortage of options at the back.
He quickly took to the role and featured heavily for the Swedish giants as they scooped the Allsvenskan title.
Due to his early days as a striker, Jansson used to watch much of Sweden great Ibrahimovic as he sought to learn his trade.
However, when he switched to defence he paid close attention to Silva, who is still starring for PSG, where he has won four Ligue 1 titles.
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"I was a striker when I was a young kid and I always liked to dribble and score goals", Jansson told LUTV when asked which defender has made the biggest impression on his career.
"And I liked to do a lot of crazy things with the ball.
"I watched a lot of strikers when I was young, like Zlatan of course because he was from Sweden.
"But if I had to choose someone who is a centre-back then I have to say Thiago Silva.
"He played with Zlatan in Paris and I watched him a lot. He's a good one", the Swede added.
Jansson played with Ibrahimovic at international level with Sweden, but has only faced the Manchester United hitman on one occasion.
It remains to be seen whether he will come up against Silva.
