Daniel James insists he is happy to play as a central striker for Manchester United, even if he prefers operating from the left.
James has scored three goals for United this season, two of which came as he cut inside from the left wing and fired into the far corner. He scored an identical goal for Wales last month from the same position.
But with Anthony Martial injured and Marcus Rashford in and out of form, James found himself starting as the central striker in the Europa League draw at AZ Alkmaar, much to the frustration of some fans who wanted to see him on the wing.
Explaining why James was deployed up front in the Netherlands, manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer said: "He stretches them. Dan can play down the middle, he has done before, that was a tactical tweak we tried. Of course, Mason [Greenwood]'s more natural as a centre forward so we swapped them around."
When signing for the club, James told ManUtd.com that it is important for a forward player to be comfortable playing across the front three positions for injury crises and to provide a Plan B during games.
“I played more on the left at Swansea but up front and on the right too,” he explained. “It's important to be versatile in all three positions because you never know when you need to be called upon.
"We might have an injured no.9 and I might need to go to play up there, so I need to be ready to play in all three roles."
James also acknowledged the similarity of his goals this season, admitting defenders will be making plans to combat him switching onto his right foot.
”I do enjoy coming inside from the left," he explained.
"I can go down the line and cross with my left, or go inside but, for now, I think it's just about sometimes scoring a few by coming inside means people are going to be wary of that. So it's about mixing my game up.“
