Leeds United are active in January as they look to bring in reinforcements in the final week or so of the ongoing winter transfer window.
The Whites are working under a tight budget, but they have already signed attacking midfielder Facundo Buonanotte on a loan from Brighton, after he rejected a similar switch last summer.
Leeds are also active in the market to sign a striker. However, their financial realities are likely to prevent them from signing one of their top targets before the end of the window.
However, the financial situation could pinch Leeds further as they have made a major misjudgement when they offered one of their players a new contract earlier this season.
Leeds United’s decision to offer Daniel James a new contract is proving to be disastrous
Daniel James played a major role in getting Leeds promoted last season, and a new deal for him earlier last summer was not questioned by many.
The Welshman deserved the new contract, but in hindsight, it is proving to be a major misstep from Leeds and the 49ers, as things have not panned out as they would have wanted.
James has struggled with injuries this season and has not featured since the 3-2 defeat against Manchester City towards the end of November due to a hamstring problem.
Leeds have since then changed their formations and have lost one of the nine games, making the winger’s place in the team irrelevant.
However, the bad news is that the winger was not looking great even before he got injured and has yet to score a goal or register an assist this season.
The formation change has also removed the need for a winger in the squad, and even if he returns to fitness, he is unlikely to start games for Leeds.
There is a real chance that the new deal could become a noose around Leeds’ neck if they want to move him on in the summer transfer window.
James is one of the top earners at Leeds
The new contract moved James towards becoming one of the top earners at Leeds. He is on the third-highest wages in the current squad at Elland Road.
He earns a base wage of £75,000 per week at Leeds, with bonuses pushing the number beyond £93,000 per week.
| Player | Weekly Wage (£) | Base Salary (£/yr) | Bonuses (£/yr) | Total Gross (£/yr) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dominic Calvert-Lewin | 100,000 | 5,200,000 | 1,300,000 | 6,500,000 |
| Sean Longstaff | 80,000 | 4,160,000 | 1,040,000 | 5,200,000 |
| Daniel James | 75,000 | 3,900,000 | 975,000 | 4,875,000 |
| Noah Okafor | 72,500 | 3,770,000 | 942,500 | 4,712,500 |
| Lucas Perri | 50,000 | 2,600,000 | 650,000 | 3,250,000 |
Only summer signings Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Sean Longstaff are on bigger contracts at Leeds than James at this stage, and that’s a problem for the club.
Leeds are not in a financial position to afford one of their top earners not being a certainty in the starting eleven when he is fit to play, but that is reality at the moment.
If Leeds want to move him next summer, it would be a major issue and finding a club agreeing to match those wages would be a lot more complicated.
There is a feeling that the club could have waited to see James perform in the Premier League before offering him a new deal.
At this point, it looks like a disastrous decision unless the winger turns things around before the end of the season.
Dan James can run fast and Neil Warnock likes him. That is pretty much the extent of his talent. It is utterly ludicrous to pay him so much money.
I’d sell him in a breath, he’s average, has drop offs in form, and is injury prone. He’s Championship class. He’s got speed, but that’s all. Get him off the books.