Why all roads may lead to Leeds for Dan after all
“ONCE I told Dan of Manchester United’s interest he said, ‘Don’t mention any other club – that’s where I want to go’.”
Those were the words of David Manasseh, the agent of Daniel James when the winger completed his move to Manchester United last summer.
After a stunning breakthrough season under Graham Potter at Swansea City, United came calling with an £18m bid, and James predictably jumped at the chance to join one of the world’s biggest clubs.
However, the winger’s move to Old Trafford came just months after he’d seemingly set his heart on a move to Championship big guns Leeds, who looked to have secured a deal to bring him to the club in the dying hours of the January window last year.
James had posed with the shirt and conducted interviews with the club’s media ahead of a potential unveiling, such was the level of confidence in the deal, only for Swans chairman Huw Jenkins to back out at the last minute.
It was a development that enraged the Welshman.
Now, just over a year after joining the Red Devils, Leeds appear to be interested in revisiting a move for James all over again, with the player seemingly slipping down the pecking order at Old Trafford.
It’s worth mentioning that Man United, despite their obvious flirtations with Borussia Dortmund over Jadon Sancho, reportedly have little interest in moving James on this summer, but judging by the player’s previous comments, Leeds is a club that has previously caught his imagination.
Speaking to former Swansea teammate Kenji Gorre on the Living The Dream podcast, James recalled how he decided to make the move to Elland Road.
“I couldn’t really believe it then towards the end of January it was like ‘yeah I do want to go’,” he said.
“It took a while to get done and then I went there on deadline day. Leeds being close to Hull, where my family is from, was a big factor.
“I’d been at Swansea since I was 16 to 21, and those years are massive. At the time it was the right decision.”
If Leeds are serious in revisiting the move, those comments may well be a source of encouragement, although the reports in Manchester suggest James is still part of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s first-team plans for now.
Nevertheless, the failed move to Elland Road certainly didn’t sit well with the player at the time, with James explaining how he reacted by angrily throwing his phone across the room.
“Leeds were offering me four years,” he continued. “The Amazon Prime documentary shows what happened: I got there in the morning, my agent said things could go to the wire, I did all the scans and medical stuff.
“I got to Elland Road about 6pm, did all the pictures with my shirt, all the interviews, because they wanted it to go out in the morning, and then it was strange.
“It got to about 9pm and I’d signed all the papers and then it was from club-to-club. I had people texting me saying ‘what’s happening?’ and I literally didn’t know.
“It wasn’t until 15 minutes to go until I thought: ‘this might not happen now’.
“I ended up ringing the chairman [of Swansea] to ask him what’s happening. It was all a bit crazy and then it wasn’t done – I threw my phone.
“I thought it’s not real. The chief exec of Leeds wasn’t happy at the time, but then it was just a case of driving home. It was a very weird situation and I think it helped me in some ways.”
Whether a move to West Yorkshire is still a draw remains to be seen. For now though, the player is likely to be focusing on impressing for the Red Devils, particularly after a somewhat indifferent showing in the disappointing season-opening defeat to Crystal Palace.
It was a performance that saw James, not for the first time, come in for criticism.
And, if he cannot turn the tide of opinion, the chance to move to a club with such obvious admiration for his abilities could prove more appealing.