"It'll be an incredibly exciting year." Pontus Jansson backs Leeds United and Marcelo Bielsa to go one better next season

Jansson predicted “an incredibly exciting year for Leeds” as the club prepares to lift themselves from the blow of defeat in the play-off semi-finals last month.

United began laying the ground for another promotion bid by securing Bielsa as head coach for a second season and are working to start the arrival of new signings before the 63-year-old kicks off pre-season training in the final week of June.

Leeds plan to make four or five additions to their squad but could allow one of their more highly-rated players to move on to balance the books at Elland Road.

Jansson, who played at last summer’s World Cup, is a valuable asset but the Sweden international has knocked back speculation about his future since the end of the season.

Tottenham Hotspur are monitoring young winger Jack Clarke and the YEP understands that Leeds will consider interest in goalkeeper Kiko Casilla just six months after taking the Spaniard on a free transfer from Real Madrid.

Casilla, whose poor performance in the play-off semi-finals contributed to United’s defeat to Derby County, is the highest earner on the club’s books with a salary of more than £30,000 a week. Leeds are reluctant to continue funding that wage having missed out on a place in the Premier League.

Bielsa’s side were on the verge of automatic promotion with four games to play but Jansson said the experience of missing out would help Leeds to secure a top-two place next season.

“In my opinion we had the best team,” Jansson told Swedish outlet Fotbollskanalen. “If you check statistically, as Bielsa loves to do, we were guaranteed a top-two place but there were small details which made us unable to do that.

“Now (Bielsa) gets another year and the players who are left know what it’s about now. We know what we have to prepare for and I’m convinced that the players who come in will raise the team even more. It’ll be an incredibly exciting year for Leeds.”