Our View

‘Incredibly harsh’, ‘Smart piece of business’ – Leeds United blasted for £25m outlay: Our View

|
Image for ‘Incredibly harsh’, ‘Smart piece of business’ – Leeds United blasted for £25m outlay: Our View

Simon Walton has claimed that Leeds United didn’t need to spend £25m on Dan James back in the summer transfer window.

Leeds’ business looked done heading into deadline day. However, they swooped to lure James from Manchester United, spending £25m in the process.

Jack Harrison and Raphinha were already on the books at Leeds and, recently, Walton has voiced his frustration at that deal.

Here Kris (FA5) and Toby (Neutral) discuss Walton’s comments and whether they agree:

I think it’s incredibly harsh to say whether or not a player has been a failure after just a handful of games at the club.

James has come into a line-up that has been changing every single week and still managed to look like a somewhat bright spark.

Yes there can be question marks about his end product, but when he’s getting into better positions under Marcelo Bielsa, you can expect that he’s going to do more with the ball.

We’ve needed a lot more quality in our squad across the board and bringing in James has helped us rectify that in one position we needed to, so it’s wrong to say we didn’t need to spend that.

Once he’s off the mark, his confidence will only grow and with that will come more involvement in the final third.

I’m not surely I entirely agree on this one in all honesty.

Admittedly, it could be hard for James to force his way into the side this season when Raphinha and Jack Harrison are fit, given they are well established options for Leeds out wide.

However, with the way Raphinha is going at the minute, it could be hard for Leeds to keep hold of him long-term, and if that does prove to be the case, then the fact that they already have James at the club reduces the need for them to go out and find a replacement for the Brazilian.

Indeed, bringing James in now to adapt to his surroundings, and even potentially learn from Raphinha before he possibly moves on, could mean the Welshman is ready to step in immediately should, as seem possible, Raphinha moves to pasture new in the not too distant future.

As a result, despite a slow start, this could yet prove to be a rather smart piece of business from Leeds.

Share this article

Leeds United Season Ticket Holder at Elland Road for over 20 seasons. Currently nestled in N12, but occasionally offering views from the press box. We’ve been through it all together? You bet.