Jesse Marsch performs abrupt u-turn on summer transfer after initial statement - YEP 7/9/22

Jesse Marsch has seemingly performed a u-turn on Daniel James’ transfer deadline day exit from Leeds United.

By Graham Smyth

Speaking on Saturday after the 5-2 defeat at Brentford Marsch appeared to suggest that James’ season-long loan move to Fulham was a necessary one in order to allow the club to bring in 18-year-old Willy Gnonto from Zurich.

“It was clear that if we needed to add something that we needed to move something,” he said.

"I hate speaking about it that way because I love Dan James, he's an incredible person and he gives everything to the group always. But when we were trying to think about how to get the balance right in the team, he was garnering the most interest and it was the only way we could create flexibility to try and go out and add a striker in a position we felt we needed.”

But Marsch has now moved to clarify the situation as a ‘football decision’ and one taken in the interests of the player and his World Cup hopes, rather than a financial one-in-one-out scenario that was forced upon the club.

Speaking to Sky Sports he said: “When it came to the Dan James situation, this was a collective decision and one that I totally support.

"And from a from a technical perspective, the concern was the thought process was, is Dan going to get enough minutes that that he wanted to help him in his career and where we were at and then what it was going to mean for him and his preparation for the World Cup and so then the decision was made to consider moving him and then when we found the right situation for everybody, we decided to move forward on it. But in the end again, I think every decision that we made in the process was made by the group and I was very supportive of every decision that we made."

At the weekend Marsch lamented the loss of James from the squad, intimating that the winger would perhaps have preferred to stay at Elland Road, and while his midweek interview reiterated that it was a difficult decision, the American now says it was one that suited Leeds.

“Yeah, I think it was a football decision, you know, and it was one that wasn't easy to make because we really liked him and we value him as a person and as a player,” he said.

"But in the end, I think one that that suits us best in the moment and and certainly Dan as well.”

Leeds endured a dramatic and chaotic deadline day that was not at all in keeping with the way they began the summer transfer window. Just last week CEO Angus Kinnear revealed the Whites had landed 90 per cent of their priority targets and Marsch has consistently spoken of how happy he has been with the recruitment of players like Tyler Adams, Brenden Aaronson and Marc Roca.

But when Victor Orta’s attempt to bring Cody Gakpo back to Yorkshire from Eindhoven was hit by a u-turn from PSV and the player himself, Leeds turned to Bamba Dieng of Marseille only for that deal to go the same way. The 22-year-old did not get on the private plane that was set to fly him to England and instead attempted to sign for Nice, before failing a medical.

Leeds eventually signed Gnonto, a player they planned to bring in from Zurich in January and one Marsch recently admitted to admiring, while adding he was not ‘Premier League ready.’ James’ move to Fulham and Gnonto’s arrival were both announced after the deadline had passed.