Manchester United may allow one of their young wingers to move to a bitter rival in the January transfer window, according to the Telegraph.
After a lack of playing time and rough form, there’s a chance that Welsh international Daniel James could be leaving United in the upcoming January transfer window.
Daniel James’ United career got off to a grand start following a debut goal in a 4-0 victory over Chelsea on the opening day of the 2019/20 season. Following on from that, the Welshman also scored some spectacular goals against Southampton and Crystal Palace. Although, he then struggled to score for the rest of the Premier League season. Despite the goal drought following some impressive strikes, James still racked up 6 assists and ended the season with a total of three goals alongside them.
According to the Telegraph, Marcelo Bielsa and Leeds have reignited their interest in the winger and hope to secure his signature in the upcoming windows. Leeds have been known to admire Daniel James and even came close to signing him six months before Manchester United. The player signed the contracts, took photos around the training ground and was near enough a Leeds United player. The move ultimately fell through after attempting to get the deal done on deadline day.
It is unknown whether James will be leaving on a permanent basis or if he will be taken on-loan to the Yorkshire side, although it will be a tough decision for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, who has been an admirer of the winger since his time at Swansea.
Daniel James’ struggle to adapt within the squad could have been due to being played out of position. His standard role at Swansea seemed to be on the left flank, with a regular occurrence of goals where the youngster cut inside onto his stronger right foot. We witnessed this in his goals early in the 2019/20 Premier League campaign. James’ most notable performances came from the left-side so perhaps he could reignite the spark playing there for United once again.
Despite the fact that this is clearly his more prominent position, he has been overrun in this area. Marcus Rashford began to breakthrough and determined that his potential was hidden on the left-side similar to James. If James is to leave on loan, he could gain plenty of experience from regular playing time at another Premier League club after already displaying his clear talent in the Championship. A loan spell could be what it takes to get the most out of the clearly promising young star.
If James is to stay, his minutes on the pitch could be massively reduced to less than they already are. Mason Greenwood seems to be favoured on the right-hand side over James, which seems to be the position Ole requires James to adapt to. It is coherent this is already the case - as thirteen weeks into the Premier League season, and he has only accumulated a meagre 179 minutes.
Whatever may come, Daniel James is full of potential and both Ole and the fans will want to see the best he has to offer.
Do you think he should stay at the club? Is a loan move right for him? Should he leave on a permanent basis? Let us know on Twitter @UnitedStandMUFC or @NewsUnitedStand!
Originally published for The United Stand.
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