Leeds United confirmed the signing of Daniel James from Manchester United on Deadline Day in a deal worth £25million, ending his two-year stint at Old Trafford.
The Wales international was signed from Swansea in 2019 for £15m but failed to consistently break into the United team, and the arrivals of Jadon Sancho and Cristiano Ronaldo seemingly pushed the 23-year-old out of the door.
Despite this, James started on Sunday against Wolves and it appeared that the winger may be in Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's plans after all.
This wasn't the case however, as James was sold within 48 hours of the final whistle at Molineux.
According to the Athletic, following the announcement of Ronaldo’s signing on Friday, Leeds enquired to see whether United would allow James to move to Elland Road on a permanent basis.
However, Solskjaer told the Welshman that he would be included in the starting line-up against Wolves on Sunday and therefore assured the 23-year-old that he was still in his plans moving forward at Old Trafford.
James started the game against Wolves but was replaced later on in the match, but due to the pair's earlier discussion, the Welshman assumed he would not be leaving the club.
Despite Solskjaer's original stance, Leeds remained optimistic that they could tempt United into a sale and their persistence clearly paid off as James was then told after the game that Leeds were interested.
Were Manchester United right to sell Daniel James? Comment below
United reportedly expressed that he would not be guaranteed game time due to other players at the club ahead of him in in his position, and the speed at which the club altered their stance on James was enough to convince him that his future may be better elsewhere.
Leeds have been interested in signing James for a long time, and they were just minutes away from doing so in 2019, but the deal fell through.
On Deadline Day during the January transfer window, James expressed his desire to leave Swansea and join Leeds, and a fee was agreed between the two clubs.
James agreed personal terms and completed his medical, and even conducting interviews and photoshoots as the deal was essentially done, but a disagreement between the Swansea owners and the Leeds chairman halted the move just an hour before the deadline.
The Welshman was waiting at Elland Road for Swansea to sign off the deal but they never did, leaving James with an awkward trip back to Wales.
It is perhaps fitting that the 23-year-old now joins Leeds on Deadline Day this time around, and the player has the chance to make up for lost time and help out his new side in the Premier League.
