He’s Still Daniel James, But He’s Not The Same

Daniel James has grown up fast since he was last sitting in the offices of Elland Road, waiting for his transfer to Leeds United to be confirmed.

James was a twenty-year-old One Direction lookalike with his father by his side, nervously sipping water while Victor Orta and Angus Kinnear were frantically trying to get someone at Swansea, anyone, even Cyril the Bastard Swan, to answer the phone.

The disappointment, when it became apparent the deal was not happening, was crushing for the player, club and fans. Whatever James had done in his first seventeen appearances for Swansea had convinced Marcelo Bielsa and Leeds’ supporters that he was the player they needed for promotion. Instead, he stayed at Swansea, sprinted from his own half to score against Brentford in the FA Cup, and joined Scum in the summer instead.

While Leeds were losing in the play-offs, James was riding the momentum of breaking through at a club desperate for something to cheer after relegation, and getting himself a move to the Premier League. The next two years taught him a lot about the cold, hard reality of life as a professional footballer.

Shortly before James moved to Old Trafford, his father, the man looking out for him in the whirlwind, passed away. Scoring three goals in his first four Premier League games suggested he was adapting nicely to the step up, but raised expectations and pressure while he was still trying to process grief. In an interview with the BBC, James said it took three months before his father’s death hit him properly, by which time his form on the pitch was being scrutinised during a 37 match run without scoring for club or country.

His name was never far away from gossip columns suggesting he was dispensable, his playing time halved in his second season and he took the role of social media’s punchbag. Despite it all, at the beginning of this August, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was telling James he was a big part of his plans for 2021/22 and starting him in the opening game of the season, the one that we’re not going to talk about. Only a couple of weeks later, Solskjaer is selling him to Leeds to make room for the 36 year old they’ve signed to compete with the 34 year old they’ve already got in attack. Welcome to the real world of elite football, Dan. Don’t worry, we don’t understand it either.

At last he is joining the club he was meant to all along. Except the details have now been reversed. Swansea were happy to take the money, until they realised he was too important to sell. Scum thought he was important to their team, until they decided to cash in. We spent the second half of 2018/19 yearning for Dan James until, er, Helder Costa turned up. Now James already feels like yesterday’s man for somebody, much like Costa himself. Leeds could have announced the transfer by tweeting the photos taken two years ago and it would somehow have felt right.

One detail that hasn’t changed is Bielsa, who remains bewitched by James’ qualities, even if they’re not immediately apparent to anyone else. His stats in 2018/19 compared favourably with Jack Harrison’s, James averaging more successful dribbles, chances created and shots per 90 minutes. Last season, James continued to lead the way with shots, but Harrison averaged more successful dribbles and almost twice as many chances created. The fastest way to Bielsa’s heart is often to run right into it, and James averaged more sprints per 90 minutes than any other winger in the Premier League last season.

Bielsa’s obsession with James inspires trust that the player can improve. Here’s hoping that taking him away from the soap opera of Old Trafford works in his favour, even if it does feel like I’m trying to convince myself this isn’t an unnecessary signing while there are more obvious question marks over other areas of the team. Maybe Daniel James is what happens when we spend all summer tweeting the club asking them to spend lots of money on footballers.

At least it’s a relief we’re no longer going to be linked with a move for Daniel James every transfer window, even if it’s hard to work out which version of Daniel James we’re signing. The wide-eyed kid has long gone. Now it’s time to find out what the grown up has got. ◉