Speaking in a recent interview, Manchester United star Daniel James has revealed he was inches away from joining Leeds.
In what could have been, Daniel James might have completed a move to Leeds instead of Manchester United.
The pacy winger joined the Red Devils in the summer of 2019 after successful season with Swansea in the Championship.
Since his move, James has failed to secure a first-team berth at Old Trafford but has shown glimpses of brilliance under the management of Ole Solskjaer. At one point this season, he was the most in-form Manchester United player, that is if you take three games into account.
However, it could have been a different story entirely. The Welshman was very close to signing for Leeds in the 2019 January window and gave an account of what went down.
Speaking as a guest on the club’s official podcast, James said: “Throughout the day it was just about doing the scans. I got to Elland Road at about six o’clock and the window was closing at 11”.
“I was watching it [deadline day] on TV, everything was mostly done so it was all eyes on Leeds and if this deal was going to go through. I was just looking at it thinking it’s just surreal.”
“I signed all the contract, did the interviews, picked my shirt number, did all the pictures and I thought it was done.”
“I then was told it wasn’t done, there was one more piece of paper [that they were waiting for] from Swansea to Leeds for them to agree on the deal of how it was going to happen.”
“It got to one minute to 11 and I was like ‘what’s going on?’. They came in and Victor [Orta], the chief executive of Leeds came in and was very upset at what had happened.”
So far, James has scored nine goals alongside eight assists across 66 total appearances for Manchester United.
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