It has been more than 18 months since Leeds United so nearly signed Daniel James.
The winger was in the building and was even pictured holding up a Leeds jersey, as was documented on the Amazon Prime series Take Us Home: Leeds United.
A Swansea City player at the time, James had agreed to move to Elland Road in January 2019 and travelled to Leeds on the final day of the winter transfer window to sign his contract.
But the deal collapsed at the eleventh hour after then-Swansea chairman Huw Jenkins pulled the plug.
Some even opined that the failed deal cost Leeds automatic promotion at the end of the 2018/2019 campaign.
A few months later – much to Leeds fans’ chagrin – James signed for Manchester United in an £18million transfer.
Despite scoring on his debut against Chelsea in United’s first game of the 2019/2020 season, his move to Old Trafford has not gone to plan.
James has not fulfilled his potential at Old Trafford so far, and with the amount of competition for attacking places in the squad, he could bolster his first-team chances by leaving the Red Devils.
That option could come to fruition sooner rather than later, with The Sun claiming that Leeds are ready to resurrect their interest in the 22-year-old, who has not managed to establish himself in Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s starting line-up.
However, all the cards lay firmly at Borussia Dortmund’s table, with Manchester United’s pursuit of Jadon Sancho the key to whether or not Marcelo Bielsa will be able to land the Welsh winger.
James started Manchester United’s 3-1 loss to Crystal Palace at Old Trafford on Saturday, but was replaced by Mason Greenwood at half-time.
It was the Welshman who occupied the right-wing position that United supporters so desperately want to see Sancho fill.
The club believes Sancho, whose contract in Dortmund runs until 2023, would be an upgrade on James, with the former Manchester City youngster contributing 20 goals and 20 assists for the Bundesliga side last season.
The problem for Manchester United is Dortmund’s asking price of £108million. It’s a figure which the hierarchy are reluctant to pay and one which the German club will seemingly not budge.
That, in turn, may give Bielsa and co. a problem, as Leeds’ rivals might prefer to keep hold of James if they can’t bring Sancho back to England.
Additionally, no major transfer has taken place between Leeds and Manchester United since Alan Smith stunned Whites fans by moving to Old Trafford in the summer of 2004 following Leeds’ relegation from the Premier League.
Bielsa is an admirer of James, whose pace and directness would make him a good fit for the Argentine’s system.
A move to Elland Road would offer James the chance of regular Premier League first-team football, which is especially valuable in the season running up to the European Championship.
But as Leeds attempt to sign the winger for a second time, they will have to keep a close eye on developments in Dortmund and Manchester before they can pull off a deal.
