Daniel James hits best form at exactly the right time at Leeds United after heartbreak
Daniel James overcame penalty heartbreak with Wales to score from the halfway line for Leeds against Hull City a week later, providing the exact response Daniel Farke will have wanted.
Leeds United kept their place in the Championship’s top two with a 3-1 victory over Hull City at Elland Road on Easter Monday, and winger James put his stamp on the scoreline with a fantastic late strike.
With Hull throwing numbers forward – including goalkeeper Ryan Allsop – in a bid to equalise late on, James ran onto Joel Piroe’s pass and sent a curling strike into the unguarded net from 56.8 yards out.
It’s the longest-range goal in England’s top four divisions so far this season, and having come less than a week after missing the penalty which saw Wales’ Euro 2024 dream come to an end, that strike was the perfect way for James to rubber-stamp his place in the Leeds team, particularly with Willy Gnonto on the verge of a return to fitness.
James and Leeds in perfect harmony after years of ups and downs
James’ career at Leeds prior to this season had been full of false starts, but under Daniel Farke in 2023-24, the Welshman is delivering on the potential first seen by Marcelo Bielsa over five years ago.
He didn’t actually play for the club back then; Swansea pulling the plug on his January 2019 transfer meant he would have to wait almost three years, via a two-season spell at Manchester United, before arriving in August 2022 for £25 million.
Injuries decimated the squad in Bielsa’s last season at Elland Road, forcing him to often play James out of position as a lone striker, and not long after Jesse Marsch was in the door, he shipped the winger out on loan to Fulham as the Whites slid out of the Premier League.
Under Farke though, Leeds are a different animal. With 13 goals and six assists already, James is playing a key role in firing the Whites back to the promised land, finally fulfilling the task he was all-but signed to do back in the earliest stages of Leeds’ renaissance.
In other Leeds news, Farke has addressed calls for young striker Mateo Joseph to start ahead of Patrick Bamford against Coventry this weekend.
For more Leeds news, follow us on Facebook or join our brand new WhatsApp Channel for instant updates to be sent straight to your phone.