Dan James slammed in Leeds United loss v Monaco, winger ‘struggled’ in pre-season clash
Dan James “struggled” in the Leeds United pre-season friendly clash against Monaco, according to Leeds Live journalist William Jackson.
Daniel Farke’s outfit lost 2-0 to the Ligue 1 club at the LNER Community Stadium in York on Saturday (22 July), with Edan Diop and Kevin Volland scoring second half goals.
Wales international James, who spent last season on loan at Fulham, started and played just over 60 minutes in the match.
“Given the nod from the start, James will have been keen to impress at the LNER Community Stadium, but he struggled to find any real traction in the game,” Jackson wrote for Leeds Live. “The winger found it hard to make an impact on the left wing in the first half, picking the ball up regularly but struggling to find end product.
“It was the same story in the second half before his eventual withdrawal. Leeds aren’t short of wing options at present and he probably missed the opportunity to give Farke more food for thought with two weeks to go before the start of the season.
“It was only a pre-season clash and performances shouldn’t be read into, too much, but James couldn’t do enough to nail down his spot in the side for the opener and was overshadowed by others.”
Missed opportunity
There are several players who won’t be given much time at all to impress new Leeds manager Daniel Farke, and James may just be one of them.
It was not the German who sent the winger on loan to the Cottagers last season, so James may be in for a fresh start at Leeds under the new man in the dugout.
But time is running out for James to nail down a starting place at the Elland Road club, with the 25-year-old up against it given the options that Farke has in that area.
The likes of Luis Sinisterra, Wilfried Gnonto and Crysencio Summerville could all be vying for spots on the wing next season, and if that is the case, James will more than likely be the fourth choice for Farke.
There is, however, still time for James to convince his manager that he is worthy of an important role next season, whether that be from the start or from the bench, or perhaps in the cup competitions.
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