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‘I’m really happy’: 25-year-old insists he never had any doubts on Leeds stay after relegation
Dan James has insisted it was ‘always’ his intention to stay at Leeds United this season despite relegation to the Championship.
Speaking in an interview with Leeds Live, James spoke of his happiness at being back at Elland Road and is determined to help the club get back to the Premier League.
James spent last season on loan at Fulham after being deemed surplus to requirements at Leeds by Jesse Marsch last summer.
It had looked for all the world as though his Leeds career was over, but is now back in West Yorkshire alongside the rest of his teammates ready for the new season.
James looks set to play a key role under Daniel Farke this term having started each of Leeds’ final three friendly matches against AS Monaco, Nottingham Forest and Hearts.
James insists he always wanted to stay at Leeds this season
James could only watch on last season as his parent club Leeds sleep walked into relegation, and even though he could only watch on helplessly, he insists it was always his intention to stay at the club this summer.
He said: “I spent my time down at Fulham last season and towards the end of the season, you start thinking about what you’re going to do next season. For me, it was right I wanted to come back, I wanted to help the team. I want to help the team this year as much as I can.
“I’m really happy to be back. I’m looking forward to playing at Elland Road again and I just want to push on. It’s always hard not being there, not being able to help. That was always tough, but I was away. I couldn’t do anything about it, so I just had to concentrate on myself and, whatever happened, I’d always be here next season.”
Given how many players have jumped ship so far during the window, it is refreshing to hear a player come out and speak about how keen he is to stay at Leeds.
You could not have blamed James for requesting a transfer this summer given the way he was shipped off 12 months ago, but returning to Leeds is clearly something he has had his eye on for a while.
James has already proven at Swansea City he can be a quality player in this division and hopefully he can do the same at Leeds.
