Brentford manager Thomas Frank has claimed summer signing Pontus Jansson has a “strong personality in many ways” ahead of the tie against his former side Leeds United this week.

The Bees travel to Elland Road to face Leeds in the Championship on Wednesday night.

It will be Jansson’s first visit to the stadium since he left the club to join the West London side in the summer.

Frank has given the Sweden international the captain’s armband at Griffin Park and, as quoted by Leeds Live ahead of the midweek clash, he praised the defender.

He said: “Pontus has shown already that he's a strong personality in many good ways.”

Leeds have made a fast start to the season and currently sit top of the Championship with seven points from three games, which means it could be a tough task for Brentford.

Frank suggested that his team would have to produce a strong performance to get a result.

He said: “We need more than Pontus to step up. In a game like [Wednesday] you need at least seven or eight players to hit their top performance.

"It will be one of the toughest away games we can play. We are going up there confident, we know that we are a good side. We need to hit our top-level Wednesday then we can go there and win.

“We hugely respect Leeds and what they can do, they have been looking bright and sharp from the start of the season. We know what to expect but what to expect doesn't mean it will be easy.”

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The Verdict

It is going to be really interesting to see how well-received Jansson is by the Leeds fans on Wednesday.

His departure is not thought to be of his own making, with the Swede having said the club sold him for financial reasons, so the 28-year-old should get a good reaction but you never know.

It is a telling statement that he was assigned the Brentford captaincy straight away and while their season has started shakily, with just one win in three games, I suspect his arrival will prove to be a good move for them.

In the short term, however, the form the two sides have shown this season would suggest the Bees may struggle to get anything from the midweek game.