Leeds United player’s pre-Manchester United meeting, training ground disputes, and what truly shifted.
Daniel James believes he could have contributed more in the final third for Leeds United last season and has set new goals for the 2024/25 Championship campaign.
During a training session, the ball came to James on the right side of the penalty area. In one fluid motion, he flicked it up with his right foot, leaped into the air, and volleyed it home with his left. It was a beautiful goal, the kind that would have gone viral if it had happened during a Championship match at Elland Road. But it didn’t—it was just a six-a-side game in training. Nevertheless, there was still a small thrill, like the kind you get as a kid when you score a spectacular goal.
“I think a little bit, not as much as you would at Elland Road in front of all those fans, but Karl [Darlow] reminded me about it afterward, so scoring against him made it a bit better,” James told the YEP. It’s the end of the second day of Leeds’ training camp in Germany, and he’s sitting outside the hotel. The weather is cooler, almost perfect, and aside from the applause of what appears to be a wedding party and the distant sounds of Georginio Rutter and the rest of the Leeds squad, it’s a calm evening. A stark contrast to the intense and frenetic training sessions filled with fouls, heavy challenges, and heated appeals for handball decisions. It has to be that way, James says.
