Phil Hay has been speaking about how much Marcelo Bielsa likes Daniel James and the long-term interest he’s held in the Leeds United attacker.
The Wales international arguably had his best game in a Leeds United shirt on Wednesday evening when he doubled his goal tally for the season by netting a brace, while also seeing a long-range effort cannon back out off the crossbar.
Has Dan James been a success at Leeds?
Yes!
No!
What is more impressive is that James did all of this while still being deployed in the unfamiliar role of a lone striker with Patrick Bamford still out, but Bielsa clearly believes he can play that role effectively – and few may argue against him given that he’s been interested in James for a long time, with Leeds famously missing out on him on Deadline Day in 2019.
Speaking the day after Leeds’ 3-3 draw with Aston Villa, Hay discussed Bielsa’s admiration towards James on The Phil Hay Show.
He said: “Bielsa has paid such close attention to him, has been so interested in him for so long, that he clearly knows what he wants to do with him. And I don’t think James has had a bad season, I don’t.
“I don’t think he’s been outstanding – particularly last night was his best game by a mile and he was excellent, I thought, right the way through.”
TIF Thoughts on Dan James at Leeds…
While James will have almost certainly joined with the hope of nailing down a spot out wide, if he can perform as he did against Aston Villa as a striker, it will certainly help Leeds in the long term given Bamford is seemingly struggling to get back to full fitness.
James is proving himself to be a much better goalscorer under Bielsa, which is a testament to the Argentine’s coaching and ability to get the maximum out of players, with the Welshman already on four goals in the league this season, whereas his best for Man United was just three. With this in mind, fans will surely be hoping this continues in Bamford’s absence.
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