da bet nacional： Leeds United supporters are expecting one deal and one deal only on transfer deadline day: the permanent transfer of Swansea City’s Daniel James.
da doce： With the rumour mill refusing to throw up any other reason for Leeds fans to feel expectant on deadline day, all eyes are on James’ potential move from south Wales to Yorkshire.
Can Leeds get a deal over the line? Tell will tell but murmurs emerging from both clubs suggest that it’s one which is set to go right down to the wire.
Interest in James has arrived during a month in which Bielsa has clearly felt the need to strengthen in wide areas following the departure of Samu Saiz, with Pablo Hernandez expected to play a key role at number ten for the remainder of the season.
But the 21-year-old winger was relatively unheard of until just a few months ago, so why exactly did Bielsa decide to put all his eggs in one basket and launch a transfer mission to secure his signature?
Well, Yorkshire Evening Post reporter Phil Hay has shed some light on the matter, citing Leeds scout Craig Dean as the man who introduced James to Bielsa with a series of video clips.
‘James is understood to have been picked out first by Craig Dean, a scout who once worked for Oxford United and is Leeds’ head of emerging talent for players between the age of 17 and 21 (James turned 21 in November).
‘The video clips shown to Bielsa appealed to him. James was quick, direct and minded to go past full-backs, providing crosses for players arriving in the box as Kemar Roofe and Mateusz Klich like to do.’
If Leeds are ultimately successful in their endeavour to sign James, Bielsa will be desperately hoping that his crosses do indeed find their way to the likes of Klich and Roofe in the final months of the season.
Craig Dean, who left Oxford United for Leeds in October 2017, may well have been a focal figure in identifying Polish teenager Mateusz Bogusz as a player for Bielsa to bring in, but his decision to recommend James is the one which could really make or break Leeds’ season.
While football supporters appreciate that scouts are working behind the scenes to identify players worth signing, it’s intriguing to get this level of specific inside information from Hay on a proposed deal which has been in the media spotlight for the best part of 7-10 days.
Dean has done his part; Bielsa has taken the advice and given the green light; now it’s down to Victor Orta to conclude the deal before the 11PM deadline.
Leeds fans – thoughts? Let us know below!