What a difference a year has made for James
AYEAR ago last week, Daniel James’ life changed forever. The Welshman was handed his first-team bow by Carlos Carvalhal 62 minutes into Swansea City’s FA Cup fourth-round replay with Notts County at the Liberty Stadium in February 2018.
And the youngster wasted no time in making his mark on the big stage, scoring just 20 minutes after coming off the bench to seal an emphatic 8-1 win for the Swans.
Little did James know that less than a year after netting on his senior debut for the club he would be at the centre of an almighty transfer tug-of-war between the Swans and Leeds United.
It could well have been a very different story.
James headed to Shrewsbury Town for the duration of the 2017/18 campaign, although the loan was cut short, with the winger being sent back to South Wales without kicking a ball for the Shrews.
And, even after his stunning FA Cup exploits, James returned to the club’s under-23s, failing to play another minute under Carvalhal, whose tenure came to an end following Swansea’s relegation from the Premier League.
However, with relegation came change, both on and off the pitch.
A number of academy products were given more prominent roles by Graham Potter, the man tasked with restoring the club’s identity on the pitch after a turbulent few final seasons in the top flight.
James was handed his league debut as a substitute in the 0-0 draw with Birmingham City at St Andrew’s in August.
In truth, the youngster has never looked back. And the hope now is that he can play a major role for the Swans over the final stages of the 2018/19 campaign.
“Because it’s his first season, you want to finish it off as best you can and do as much as you can for the team,” said Potter.
“Things change so quickly in football. This time last year no-one had heard of him, he wasn’t playing.
“He came back from a loan at Shrewsbury Town that wasn’t successful.
“He’s broke through and got more games and now he’s influencing games in the Championship. The challenge for him is to keep doing that and see how good he can be.”
After a string of impressive performances for a new-look Swansea side, James inevitably started to attract some attention.
And that attention came agonisingly close to becoming a transfer as James appeared destined to join Leeds United on transfer deadline day.
The 21-year-old had passed a medical and was pictured at Elland Road ahead of a proposed move, although the plug was pulled on a deal at the 11th hour, leaving James to return to south Wales for the foreseeable future.
Just 13 days after that deal collapsed, James could be lining up against the side he came so close to joining as Swansea take on Leeds in Yorkshire tomorrow night.
Elland Road is a notoriously testing pantheon for all who visit, and with January’s events so fresh in the mind, you’d be loathe to criticise what is an inexperienced squad if they are unable to bring home the points.
But Potter has no concerns that his troops – particularly James – will crumble in the Elland Road cauldron.
On James, Potter commented: “I’ve said before, in the first season, to have that responsibility to be the attacking player, it’s not easy to play well every week in the attacking positions because teams defend and it’s hard. But he tries his best and his level of performance is consistent for a winger and for someone that has his challenges.
“I have no worries about Dan’s temperament or his attitude.
“He’ll give his best for the team and then it’s our exciting challenge to help him fulfil his potential.
“I think he’ll enjoy it (at Leeds). At the end of the day he’s done nothing wrong, he is a footballer who was in the middle of a situation and he’s got nothing to apologise for.
“He’s just here to play football and he’ll do his best. We look forward to watching him play.”
It’s been 371 days since James burst onto the scene with a debut goal in that rout of Notts County.
And while it’s been a dramatic year to say the least, James’ fledgling career continues to be on an upward trajectory.