Danny Mills slams Daniel James after what he saw Leeds star do v Middlesbrough
Danny Mills slammed Daniel James after what he saw the Leeds United star do in the 3-1 win against Middlesbrough at Elland Road on Tuesday.
James had a sight of goal just three minutes into the game after Daniel Barlaser conceded possession, but failed to test Boro goalkeeper Seny Dieng.
Speaking on talkSPORT2 [10 December, 8:02 pm], Mills, who thought Wilfried Gnonto’s eventual opener was “bizarre”, was disappointed with the Wales international’s short, dubbing the effort “poor”.
“Barlaser gave the ball away and Dan James had space and time, and he went through, took the shot on very early and absolutely scuffed it, dragged 15-20 yards wide in the end.
“It’s a poor effort, Boro little bit fortunate.”
However, Mills immediately turned his attention towards Joe Rothwell and Ao Tanaka, waxing lyrical about the “sensational” duo’s influence in Ethan Ampadu’s absence.
“Rothwell and Tanaka, I think, have been sensational”, he said.
“I think Ampadu was maybe expected to play in that role, but of course, he’s been out injured an awful lot, he’s played at centre-half on occasions as well.
“But, I think the combination of those has been really effective for Leeds.”
Danny Mills slams Daniel James after what he saw Leeds star do v Middlesbrough
Despite fluffing his lines early on, James went on to take the game by the scruff of the neck, netting the hosts’ second after Max Wober’s own-goal nullified Wilfried Gnonto’s first-half opener.
He missed a goalscoring chance from a similar position seconds ago, but did not let that get the better of him as he rattled the top-left corner of Dieng’s goal.
The 27-year-old also set up the Italy international’s goal with what Mills later described as a decent cross, albeit with some help from Dieng.
Nevertheless, James was one of the best players on the pitch as Daniel Farke’s side claimed all three points against fellow promotion contenders.
The former Manchester United man has four goals and two assists from 14 Championship appearances for the West Yorkshire outfit.
Although the numbers leave much to be desired, there is no doubt that he is key for Leeds’ push for promotion this season.
In other Leeds United news, this Farke regular could be tempted to leave Elland Road in January amid interest from a foreign country.
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