Tottenham have made a late bid to prise Wales winger Daniel James away from Leeds.
Antonio Conte wants James and Spurs have put out some feelers to gauge his availability. But Leeds are adamant they do not want to sell James one year after paying Manchester United £25million for him.
It has been reported that Tottenham want to sign James on loan with a view to a £20million permanent deal next summer but it is understood by Mirror Sport that Leeds would reject any interest. James, 24, scored four goals and made four assists last season in the Premier League for Leeds and boss Jesse Marsch sees him as key to his plans.
Marsch wants to use James in his natural wide position after the former Reds winger was used as a makeshift forward last season because of Patrick Bamford’s injury problems. James is lighting fast and Marsch wants him running at defenders to unbalance them.
The Leeds boss said after James scored and made an assist in last month’s friendly win over Brisbane Roar: “We were forced to play Dan at striker a lot last year and we know that’s not his best position. He likes to play more on the left. I’ve been challenging him to play a little bit more on the right, so he can set himself up on his right foot and make some final plays.”
Leeds do not want to lose any more of their big names in the final hours of the transfer window after having to sell Raphinha and Kalvin Phillips. They were able to prepare for their departures and were able to identify their replacements to lessen the upheaval to the squad.
Colombian winger Luis Sinisterra was bought from Feyenoord to replace Raphinha and scored on his full debut against Barnsley last week. Marsch wanted to play with two holding midfielders rather than using just Phillips in that role and Leeds have brought in Marc Roca and Tyler Adams to cover that switch. Leeds are under no pressure financially to sell James because of the £100million they earned from selling Raphinha and Phillips.
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They also stood firm over Newcastle's interest in Jack Harrison and the Toon never got close to their valuation of the winger to even tempt them into doing a deal. Leeds still have half an eye out for a striker and they have searched all summer for someone to act as back-up to Patrick Bamford. They were prepared to smash their transfer record to sign Belgium international Charles De Ketelaere from Bruges before he opted to join AC Milan instead.
They also showed interest in Arnaud Kalimuendo before he quit Paris St Germain to join Rennes. It is proving almost impossible for Leeds to sign someone who of the right quality, price, salary and age, who won’t hinder the progress of Joe Gelhardt and Sam Greenwood. Leeds’ search has also become less urgent because Rodrigo has started the season well and Bamford’s latest injury is not serious. Leeds were also in the market for a left-back because of Junior Firpo’s injury, but Pascal Struijk has proved to be a fine replacement.
