Dan James eyes gains from Leeds United action and assesses position under Jesse Marsch - YEP 12/7/22


LEEDS United were already two and a half weeks into their new season when Dan James joined the club last summer.

By Lee Sobot

One year on, the Whites have landed six new recruits a full month before their first game.

Speaking from experience, that, says James, can only be a positive for a side determined to kick on after last season’s troubles at the foot of the division.

James is just over one week into his first pre-season at Leeds having been among the club’s internationals to return last Monday.

It meant that James played no part in Thursday’s first pre-season friendly in front of fans against Blackpool but the Wales international is part of the Whites squad to have touched down in Australia for games against Brisbane Roar, Aston Villa and Crystal Palace.

Summer signings Brenden Aaronson, Rasmus Kristensen, Marc Roca, Tyler Adams, Darko Gyabi and Luis Sinisterra were also on the plane – and James says the recent arrivals and Leeds as a whole will definitely benefit from the timing of getting those deals over the line.

“It’s huge,” said James. “I came in on deadline day and missed pre-season last season. It’s not to say I didn’t settle in quickly but it’s always great for the boys to come in early doors.

“A couple of them have worked with the manager before which is always great – they know the system, they know how he wants them to play.

"It’s great for them to come in early and get to know the boys. You want that bond between each other on and off the pitch.”

Even with six arrivals through the door, United are still looking to further strengthen their squad by landing an additional striker option, chiefly as competition and cover for Patrick Bamford.

A series of injuries limited Bamford to just nine starts and 559 minutes of league football last term under former boss Marcelo Bielsa and his replacement Jesse Marsch.

Both coaches often called on James to lead the line and the 24-year-old says he is more than happy to be deployed wherever Marsch calls for.

“I see myself playing anywhere under him,” said James.

“I think it’s so important to be versatile and be able to play anywhere around the pitch.

“Nowadays it’s always great to be able to play two or three positions because if the manager ever wants to change the formation I can still fit in.”

Reflecting on any criticism that came his way when playing in the position, James reasoned: “I don’t read much in the media and things because you can read a hundred things and one bad thing might get you down.

“Even if I do see something, you just keep level headed and laugh about it. It’s obviously a position I played a lot last season.

"Jesse always brought me in and showed how much I do to help the team, stretching it, keeping people honest.

“He always brought me in at times when you might not have scored as much as you wanted to but look what you’re doing for the team. Things that aren’t probably seen from the public eye watching on TV.

“It was always nice to hear that from the manager. But as a player, I want to score more goals and that’s something I’ll continue to work on, off the pitch and I think Jesse will always help me with that as well.”

Thursday’s friendly against Brisbane Roar will provide the next step and likely a first outing of the summer for James who is now relishing both his second season at Leeds and the tour of Australia.

“It’s one I’m really looking forward to,” said the winger who has also helped Wales qualify for this winter’s World Cup.

“The players that have come in have come in early which is great.

“You can create that great bond with them. Coming in for the end of the season it was hard for him [Marsch] to get his strategy across because the games come so fast, there’s no time in training, most of the time is about rest.

"These five weeks are about learning, getting this new system locked down.”

Reflecting on last season’s great escape as Leeds avoided relegation on the final day, James knows just how much United would benefit this time around from a decent start.

“That would be brilliant,” he said.

“We were in that position last year, something we don’t want to be in again.

"We had some very important players out last season as well, it’s no excuse, we shouldn’t have been in the bottom three at the time.

"Thankfully we got out of that and we can improve this season. We need to go out and show that.”

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