Leeds United have been hot on the heels of Swansea City winger Daniel James for some time now. Not too long ago it was being reported that the Swans have set a £12m (Wales Online) price tag on the head of the Wales international. However, that hasn’t deterred the Whites, and according to The Sun, the West Yorkshire outfit has made a £10m bid for the 21-year-old. Out of the £10m, £6m will be offered in cash and the rest £4m in incentives and other add-ons (promotion related).
Not too long ago reports (The Mirror) were doing the round that Swansea could demand £5m for James, but Graham Potter has managed to shoot the price up. The Swansea manager recently gave an interview and indicated that there is a possibility that the winger could leave in this window.
Potter was quoted as saying (Wales Online), ”Nobody’s said anything has come in, it’s just talk. I’m sure we’ll carry on talking until the deadline so we’ll see. I wouldn’t say its inevitable but it’s a possibility (On players leaving).”
Stuart Dallas has recently been ruled out for a considerable amount of time and in light of that news, one can understand why Leeds United have decided to go full throttle on signing the Wales international.
Marcelo Bielsa is said to be an admirer of the winger and the 21-year-old will add much-needed depth and quality in the wide regions. The wing position is currently being occupied by the likes of Jack Harrison and Jack Clarke as Ezgjan Alioski and Pablo Hernandez are playing in other places as makeshift players. Therefore one can understand the need for a new player in the current United roster.
Daniel James is a work in progress and his numbers this season are nothing to talk about. However, we have seen how Bielsa has transformed this current squad and if the gaffer believes James is worth that much then we are not going to question his judgement here. Given that he is just 21, he can still take his game to the next level and there is no better manager to unlock his true potential than Bielsa.
Signing players in January is often tough and the selling club can always hold their ground. James still has 18 months to run on his contract. Therefore, the Swans are under no pressure to sell him so it is understandable why the Whites have had to make this bid which could be worth £10m. It remains to be seen what would be Welsh outfit’s response, but it seems like the Whites are leaving no stones unturned in trying to sign this talented winger.
