Absence is said to make the heart grow fonder. Old acquaintances left out of sight tend to remain out of mind. Being 170 miles away from the flying shrapnel of Leeds United’s relegation blast cannot be too bad for a reputation either.
Daniel James was hardly someone supporters were calling for in their hours of desperate need down the home stretch of last season, but in the Championship, he may just get a fresh start. A goal for Wales earlier this month, before the darkness of a dire evening closed in, was a sharp reminder for Leeds fans of an attacker many would have forgotten about in 2023.
Across 40 appearances since his £25m arrival, James had not done enough to provoke any great uproar when news of his Fulham loan emerged. At the time, there were concerns when it transpired Leeds had effectively pushed out their 24-year-old full international to make room for an 18-year-old from the Swiss Super League.
Wilfried Gnonto would go on to prove any doubters wrong, while James failed to make any meaningful impression at Fulham, one of the top flight’s surprise packages. A season in the second tier might be just what James needs.
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The speedster may have left the home comforts of Swansea City for Manchester United in 2019, but he’s only had two top-flight campaigns of what you would call regular starts since then. There were 26 with the Red Devils in 2019/20 (three goals, six assists) and then 29 with Leeds in 2021/22 (four goals, four assists).
Fulham makes it three clubs in the top division which have failed to find a meaningful, sustained impact from James. While he was deemed surplus to requirements at Leeds in September, those obstacles between him and the starting line-up are expected to evaporate.
If Jack Harrison, Luis Sinisterra or Brenden Aaronson were still Leeds players by September 2 it would be a major surprise. Helder Costa and Ian Poveda are still contracted to the Whites, but virtually considered already out of the door.
Gnonto and Crysencio Summerville are the other wide assets on the books, while Georginio Rutter will probably prove an outlet on the flanks too, when he eventually gets a chance. Gnonto and Summerville, who shone very brightly for small spells last term, have hard-to-call futures.
Either way, Leeds can’t afford to lose all of their wide talent. Some of the aforementioned names will remain, but James is going to be a whole lot closer to regular starts and we saw, when he was five years less experienced, the damage he did in the Championship with Swansea.
In a summer where so many of United’s bright 20-somethings will move on, James could just prove to be that faithful, steady, under-the-radar asset with the kind of elite experience and killer speed that puts Championship defences to the sword.
