Journalist Alison Bender believes Tottenham Hotspur could now look to land Daniel James in the final days of this summer’s transfer window.
The Welshman’s future was a topic of discussion on the latest episode of the BBC’s Transfer Gossip Daily podcast after reports emerged suggesting the north London club have an interest in the winger and could look to make a move before the market shuts.
Spurs are now expecting Spaniard Bryan Gil to depart for the season on loan to Valencia and Antonio Conte has already spoken of the need to replace departing players:
“This squad is this and if someone goes away then another has to come. This has to be very clear for everybody,” he said.
Bender now thinks this is a potential move which she can see transpiring before the 1st September deadline next week:
She said: “Well, it’s a funny one, isn’t it? Because I think Tottenham are being a bit greedy here, to be honest, when you look at the attacking threat that they’ve got…
“Maybe they are going to make some kind of signings like that. I think Spurs want a loan move but Leeds want the money, so we’ll see what happens – but I can see this one happening.”
TIF Thoughts on Bender’s comments…
James only joined the Yorkshire club last summer after spending two years at Manchester United, but it has not been plain sailing for the Welshman.
Would you want to see Spurs sign James?
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In 37 appearances for Leeds, James has only been able to provide four goals and five assists across all competitions and ended the 2021/22 campaign with a straight red card amid Leeds’ relegation scrap (via Transfermarkt).
Given James would be unlikely to uproot Son Heung-min or Dejan Kulusevski from Conte’s starting XI, we do question whether the 24-year-old has the ability to provide an influence from the bench.
With the likes of Lucas Moura and Richarlison also at Conte’s disposal, we do not think James is a player who could prove a real challenge for a spot in Tottenham’s squad, so we do wonder whether this would be a smart move from Spurs.