Daniel James reveals phone call with Swansea chairman during collapsed Leeds move
Daniel James has revealed that he rang Swansea chairman Huw Jenkins himself to question why his move to Leeds United wasn’t completed.
The Wales international had all but completed a move to Elland Road last January, but in a spectacular twist, it collapsed at the end of deadline day.
In the Amazon documentary highlighted James signing his contract in West Yorkshire, and even taking his photos in a Leeds shirt before Jenkins pulled the plug on the move.
James revealed what was offered to him by Andrea Radrizzani and then how he reacted once he had found out that it wouldn’t be happening.
“Leeds were offering me four years. The Amazon Prime documentary shows what happened: I got there in the morning, my agent said things could go to the wire, I did all the scans and medical stuff,” he revealed on the Living The Dream podcast.
“I ended up ringing the chairman (of Swansea) to ask him what’s happening. It was all a bit crazy and then it wasn’t done – I threw my phone.
“I thought it’s not real. The chief exec of Leeds wasn’t happy at the time, but then it was just a case of driving home. It was a very weird situation and I think it helped me in some ways.”
James, now of Manchester United, had caught the eye of many with his performances, and many fans had suggested that his collapsed move could have been the difference between promotion and another season in the Championship.
Looking at his impressive start to life in the Premier League this season and they certainly had a point. The 22-year-old has been involved in nine goals and has averaged more shots on goal per game than the likes of Juan Mata, Odion Ighalo and Jesse Lingard [WhoScored].
Jenkins was clearly the reason behind Leeds missing out on James, and it appears that the winger shared that frustration with the Whites during that time.
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