Rob Page has claimed Manchester United were guilty of "mismanaging" Daniel James during the winger's disappointing stint at Old Trafford, and admits the former Swansea City star's current struggle for game time remains a concern.
However, he insists he is confident of getting the forward firing on all cylinders once again as he prepares Wales for a brave new era.
James has spent the season on loan at Fulham, who take on the Red Devils in the FA Cup quarter-finals on Sunday, but hasn't started a Premier League game since October, and has seen just 38 minutes of action since the third round win over Hull on January 7.
Following the retirement of Gareth Bale, Page is likely to lean more heavily on the 25-year-old for inspiration in the final third, with Wales set to kick off their Euro 2024 qualification campaign against Croatia on March 25.
"I spoke with DJ last week," Page said. "He's fine but disappointed he's not playing. Of course he is. He's gone there [to Fulham] to play games of football and he finds it frustrating that's he not getting the minutes he would like.
"It's not what we want, but over the last two years it's something we've been used to. We've been successful doing it in the past, managing loads and getting them up to speed and we'll have to continue to do it so the game's not a shock for them."
James has struggled for consistency in the Premier League since his £15million move to Manchester United in 2019, but Page believes the forward wasn't handled correctly during his two-year spell with the current League Cup holders.
"The difference in expectation from being in a Swansea team to a Man United team is chalk and cheese," he added. "At times they can be mismanaging players. DJ went into a club where that was expected to win games.
"When he was scoring goals and creating chances he was brilliant. When it doesn't quite happen there's a time where you have to pull a young player out and protect him a little bit, knowing that his form is going to be inconsistent. You have to accept that.
"I think a young player could be managed a little bit differently going from the Championship to the Premier League with no doubt there was going there was going to be a little dip in form. My job now is to get him back up to the levels he's shown before because we know we've got a great asset in DJ with his pace."
James left Man United for long-term admirers Leeds United in 2021, but has once again struggled to rediscover his best form, with his loan move to Fulham arriving as part of a bid to find some much-needed game time.
But while his time in the top flight hasn't panned out how anyone would have hoped, Page says James himself is already meticulously going through his game, and will benefit from new the impact of new assistant boss Eric Ramsey, who joined the Wales backroom team earlier this month.
"DJ's a student of the game and goes to the nth degree, the way he looks back at his performances is brilliant," he added. "Eric Ramsay, who I've brought in from Man United, is one of the best youth development coaches in Britain and he will be really valuable to him.
"We'll assess him [James] when we get him on to camp. I was really positive about him after the conversation we had. Disappointed not to be playing but he's ready for this camp and he's really looking forward to get going."
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