Business Day

Man United’s James has the Giggs look

- Martyn Herman London

Manchester United’s record in the transfer market in recent seasons has been more miss than hit with Henrikh Mkhitaryan, Alexis Sanchez, Memphis Depay and Fred all failing to spark for the Old Trafford club.

In former Swansea City winger Daniel James, however, United may have hit the jackpot with comparison­s already being drawn with their former Welsh flyer Ryan Giggs.

United host Leicester City on Saturday aiming to kick-start their season, having managed one win from their opening four Premier League games.

A haul of five points, seven fewer than leaders and archrivals Liverpool, might ordinarily have the fans grumbling, but in James they have a player capable of quickening the pulse with his searing pace and trickery.

Since joining from Championsh­ip club Swansea for a reported £15m, James has netted three times in the league, including on his debut in the 4-0 hammering of Chelsea. He also scored superb goals in the 2-1 defeat by Crystal Palace and in the 1-1 draw with Southampto­n.

He was on target again for Wales against Belarus during the internatio­nal break and Giggs, his national team manager, is effusive in his praise for the 21year-old, who is looking like one of the best signings in the transfer window.

“He’s one of those players, you know what he’s going to do but you can’t stop it,” Giggs said, referring to James’s dribbling

Daniel James has been compared to Ryan Giggs after just a handful of games for Man United. speed and ability to cut in from the left and hit the target.

“Like any young winger, there can be that improvemen­t in the final ball and scoring more goals, but he’s doing that.”

James can become the second United player to score in his first three league games at Old Trafford after manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer in 1996.

But while he has hit the ground running, United are not yet up to speed and the optimism engendered by the Chelsea win has been replaced by the cold reality that United are still way behind Manchester City and Liverpool.

Leicester have started the season impressive­ly and sit third after two wins and two draws with striker Jamie Vardy looking back to his best.

After a two-week hiatus for internatio­nals, Liverpool get the programme up and running on Saturday as they host Newcastle United looking to continue their 100% start and claim a club record-extending 14th straight top-flight win.

Manchester City, who are two points behind, face promoted Norwich City in Saturday’s late kickoff. Tottenham Hotspur, who like United have stuttered so far, host fourth-placed Crystal Palace, while Frank Lampard’s Chelsea, also on five points, travel to Wolverhamp­ton Wanderers, who are still seeking their first league win of the season.

Arsenal play at Watford on Sunday, with the hosts welcoming back Quique Sanchez Flores for a second stint as manager after they parted company with Javi Gracia last week.

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Filling big boots:

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