
Daniel James has gradually emerged as one of the most potent attacking threats for Leeds United this season. He has started eleven of the 15 Championship games that he has been fit and available to play. His pace, energy and drive on the right-hand side of Leeds’ attack have been a massive weapon for Daniel Farke and he has regularly pushed Leeds forward this season. The Welshman’s numbers are yet to reflect the quality of his performances but it is clear, James is a key player for his side’s promotion hopes.
Leeds sit second in the Championship standings at this stage of the season and are one of the, if not the top favourites to earn automatic promotion to the Premier League.
The Whites have scars from last season but they were only the second side since Sunderland in 1997/98, to fail to get promoted despite scoring 90 or more points in the regular Championship campaign.
They are on course to score a similar points haul this season and will likely book their ticket to the Premier League if they can notch up 90 points by the end of the season.
Leeds do not have a goalscorer who is dominating the charts but they have still scored the most number of goals in the Championship thus far. The key to that is several players have stepped up and contributed to ensuring that they do not feel the lack of a prolific number 9 up-front.
Daniel James is one of the players who have silently gone about his business on the right flank and has emerged as one of the most important players in the squad this season.
Daniel James is emerging as the leader of the Leeds United attack
The Welshman has four goals and two assists in 15 appearances this season and on the face of it, the numbers do not look remarkable. However, it is difficult to gauge the impact his presence has on his teammates and opposition defences.
The 27-year-old always had the blistering pace that even made a few Premier League defences quake in their boots when he was playing in the top flight.
James is a nightmare for full-backs when he is running at them full steam and for a team such as Leeds who are always looking to hit on the transitions, the Welshman is the ideal wide man.
He is more of a pacy winger than a dribber but he still completes almost half of the dribbles he attempts on average during a game. James is also not shy of getting a shot away to test the goalkeepers and averages two shots per game in the Championship, especially from outside the box.
Despite the hurried nature of his games, the Welshman rarely gets dispossessed in the final third and most of his passing is accurate. James is also good in tight spaces and averages 1.3 key passes per game in the league.
However, managers love James because of the defensive work he puts in to support the full-back and doesn’t shy away from getting his foot in tackles when needed.
Daniel Farke would hope to see his numbers improve to match his performance levels
Despite the consistency in his performances, James has still managed to score only four goals and two assists this season. His impact on the team is more than those numbers suggest, but they need to improve in the latter half of the season.
Leeds do not possess a prolific goalscorer and depend on the attackers to chip in and collectively share the goals across the squad. The fact that they are the highest scorers in the Championship shows how well the team have gelled in attack.
However, Leeds need to do more especially away from home where goals have been hard to come by and they want players such as James to add more goals and assists to their game.
Farke’s tactical plans allow the Leeds wide men to get into goalscoring areas more and James often finds himself in positions to have a shot at goal.
He is already emerging as one of the main men in attack but he needs to create more for his teammates and find ways to get himself on the scoresheet more regularly.
James was absolutely brilliant in the 3-1 win over Middlesbrough last week. He provided the cross that led to Leeds’ first goal and his strike to score the second was absolutely sublime.
The winger has already shown that he is a real menace for Championship defences and Leeds just need some consistency to push them towards promotion to the Premier League.
