Leeds United are keeping close tabs on Swansea City attacker Daniel James with a view to bidding for him again in the summer, according to the Yorkshire Evening Post.
The regional newspaper claim the Championship promotion hopefuls haven’t given up in pursuit of the 21-year-old even though his deadline-day loan-to-boy transfer to Elland Road collapsed at the eleventh hour.
The Yorkshire Evening Post report Leeds had been set to pay a loan fee for James and then look to pay a further £7million to make the deal permanent if they won promotion.
OPINION
First, the good news as far as Leeds and James are concerned. The player was said by his manager Graham Potter to have delivered an “incredible” performance in Swansea’s 1-0 win against Millwall at the weekend. “He was explosive, got the crowd on their feet” and it was a “fully committed” display from a player who had spent the previous weekend in Yorkshire reflecting over the collapsed transfer to Leeds. Secondly, the bad news. James is set to play against United on Wednesday night, and, judging by Potter’s comments, is set to be named in the starting XI, too. Leeds fans are already fearing the worst, expecting the winger to show precisely why they missed out big time when failing to finalise the 31 January transfer. Swansea pulled the plug on the deal, although Leeds could and perhaps should have sealed it earlier, and not left it to deadline-day to be pushed over the finish line.