Space invader Aaron on launch pad

DANIEL JAMES is the perfect role model for Aaron Connolly and all football’s bright young things.

That’s the message Brighton boss Graham Potter will be hammering home to 19-year-old Connolly ahead of the trip to Old Trafford to face James, 22 today, and Manchester United.

Potter knows the £20million United new boy well, having worked with James at Swansea.

The Seagulls chief said: “Dan’s a good story for any young player.

“He went on loan to Shrewsbury and didn’t play – he wasn’t seen as good enough for League One.

“He came back to us in the summer — obviously Swansea had been relegated and I’d just taken over and you’re trying to get your head around everybody at the club. Who’s this and who’s that?

“Yeovil wanted him on loan and thankfully we didn’t send him.

“Six months later he was literally unplayable, in the Championship.

“Then he gets interest from Leeds and Manchester United, and it just goes to show that if you have resilience as a young player you always have a chance.

“From a football perspective, both Dan and Aaron like to attack the space in behind.

“A lot of players, especially young players, want to come towards the ball and have the ball to feet and then do something from there.

“Whereas both those guys want to run into space.

“That’s quite a dangerous attribute to have from an offensive perspective — defenders are always worried about looking towards their own goal and you ask most defenders, they’d rather defend the other way.

“Both have that quality to do that and do it often as well.”

Potter knows the run up to and including Boxing Day will define Brighton’s season. After United, they face Leicester, Liverpool, Arsenal, Wolves, Crystal Palace, Sheffield United and Tottenham.

Potter added: “You can waste a lot of energy looking ahead.

“In the Premier League, every game you play you can lose.

“That’s the nature of it.”