Pontus Jansson has urged Paul Heckingbottom to hand Paudie O’Connor his Leeds United debut this weekend, insisting that now is the time to see if the club’s under-23 squad are ready for the Sky Bet Championship.  

Injuries are piling up against Heckingbottom’s squad ahead of this weekend’s clash with Sunderland, particularly in central defence, with Jansson Leeds’ only senior centre-back ready to take on the Black Cats.

Leeds are likely to be without Liam Cooper, Matthew Pennington and Conor Shaughnessy this weekend, which has opened the door for O’Connor to potentially make his first-team debut, having trained with Heckingbottom’s squad all week.

Discussing whether the 20-year-old was ready for first-team football with Leeds Live, Jansson said: “Yeah, for sure. Now is the time to try and see if those players are ready.

“Of course you want to win on Saturday, but it's the time to see if those young players are ready to playing in the Championship.”

Should Heckingbottom hand O’Connor a starting berth against Sunderland on Saturday, the likelihood is he will be alongside Jansson in central defence.

The 27-year-old was asked in-depth about O’Connor and what impression he had made in training, Jansson continued: “Really good to be honest. I've seen him train a couple of times, he's good with us, I've also seen him also in one Under-23 game so I try to scout the players.

“But he is good, he has confidence, looked like me when I was young, want to take risks with the ball which is good, but also is clever, strong, fast, so he can be a good defender.”

Heckingbottom has already handed Tom Pearce a senior debut at left-back, whilst fellow academy graduate, Bailey Peacock-Farrell, has been established as Leeds’ No. 1 during Heckingbottom’s short time at Elland Road.

The Verdict

Injuries have opened the door for O’Connor to take the step into the first-team, with an opportunity sure to come between now and the end of the season.

With very little to be positive about at Elland Road, the emergence of Pearce and Peacock-Farrell has been a shining light for Leeds’ supporters.

Seeing O’Connor take to the field on Saturday would be another positive for Leeds’ supporters, who are itching to see more of the club’s talented under-23s take the step into the first-team.

Leeds fans… Let us know your thoughts!