Manchester United have not finished doing their business, despite the transfer window is almost closed. The Red Devils have signed Cristiano Ronaldo from Juventus last Friday, creating a frenzy in the media around the Portuguese star’s return to the Old Trafford after 12 years away from the club. While it looks that will be the final incoming deal for United this summer, that might not be all from the club, since there are players expected to leave. Officially, one of them has now left the club.
That player is Daniel James.
James Joins Leeds United
On Monday, news broke out that Leeds United were in advanced talks with Man United to sign Dan James on a permanent deal. Discussions were ongoing to complete the agreement before the window shuts on Wednesday and the player himself was also negotiating with Leeds on personal terms. In the meantime, the talks between all three sides started moving quickly, as Marcelo Bielsa was eager to get himself the player he wanted and almost signed when he was still at Swansea. The player was also eager to make a move, seeing that getting regular playing time at United was going to become harder and harder, with the arrival of Jadon Sancho and Ronaldo. And on Tuesday morning everything was confirmed.
Daniel James completed his move from Manchester to Leeds in a transfer worth 28 million euros, according to Fabrizio Romano. This is obviously a permanent move, something that Man United very much needed. There were reports Everton were interested in the player, but it turns out those were just fake news, as the Toffees were never in the race for the speedy winger. James now joins Leeds and Bielsa gets the player that will help his team play the way he expects his team to play.
James was an honest player for United. He may not have had the quality to improve Man United, but he also joined the club after only his first full season in professional football. Considering his age, James will have enough time under Bielsa to help him develop, especially in the tactical sense and the new chapter now starts for the Wales international.
A Good Piece Of Business For Man United
Man United were starting to have too many options in attacking positions. Players like Jesse Lingard seem to be staying at the club, and with Juan Mata and the others, that is too many for Daniel James to regularly get playing time. Players like Sancho and Ronaldo will go straight into the starting XI, leaving just two of those four attacking spots. Thus, James had to leave and this deal is great for Manchester United. They got 28 million euros for a player they ultimately did not need, that could not improve them in the long term and also in the time of the COVID-19 pandemic, when the clubs’ finances are not great. Man United paid 18 million euros for James two years ago and now sold him for a 10 million profit. This money will be moved towards paying off some of the accumulated debts and will most probably not be reinvested into new signings…
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