Leeds have confirmed the signing of Daniel James from Manchester United on a five-year contract.
Director of Football Victor Orta said it was “no secret” that the club had been monitoring the winger “for a number of years”. The fee is undisclosed but is believed to be in the region of £25-28m.
The Whites first tried to sign the Welshman during his time at Swansea City, before he moved to Old Trafford at the start of the 2019-20 season.
“As a player we feel Daniel is an excellent fit for a Marcelo Bielsa team,” Orta added. “He is quick, direct and works hard – we look forward to him joining up with the squad – finally!”
James scored three goals in his first four appearances under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, but has since fallen out of favour and was deemed surplus to requirements following the arrival of Cristiano Ronaldo.
The 23-year-old played his final game for the Red Devils in Sunday’s 1-0 win over Wolves at Molineux, before travelling to Yorkshire to finalise personal terms and undertake a medical on Tuesday.
Leeds have announced he will wear the number 20 shirt and could make his debut in their Premier League match against Liverpool at Elland Road on 12 September.
“For me and my football career, it was completely the right decision,” James told Sky Sports.
“Don’t get me wrong, I had an unbelievable time, I made great friends, the staff were amazing to me and so were the fans, but for me, it’s time to move on career-wise and just to move forward, so yeah I’m looking forward to it.
“I’m a different player and a different person. I’d only played half a season when I nearly signed here last time, but I’ve now got games under my belt at the top level and I’d like to think I can add something here.
“He’s a top manager [Marcelo Bielsa], respected around the world and it’s always nice to be liked by someone like that and it’s one of the big reasons that I’m here today. Whether he likes you or not, it doesn’t mean I’m going to play every week.
“So, I’ve still got a lot of fighting to do to get try to get into the team because it’s a great group of players here.”
from Football – inews.co.uk https://ift.tt/3zyFGeM
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