Mason Greenwood is taking all the spotlight from the right flank and there’s no way, as things stand, for Daniel James to get back into the team.
But fear not. An interesting piece by Tyrone Marshall in the Manchester Evening News outlines that this squad role was made for James when he joined the club. A paragraph from the piece states the following:
“Yet the squad role James has now is arguably the one he should always have had. He was undroppable for most of this season because United had left themselves so short of options in the front three. That put a level of pressure and scrutiny on James that was unfair for a player still adapting to a mercurial rise in 12 months.”
This is not meant as a discredit to young James… the Wales international has come a long way over the past two years during which he jumped from the Championship to Premier League. His performances this season have been encouraging to say the least but I’ve always seen him as an important squad player long-term.
That’s not to say James can’t become a regular starter for United. If he develops into an even better player than I think he will, I’ll happily hold my hands up because he’s been a good signing and I wish him the best.
Greenwood has been a fantastic addition to the line-up since Project Restart and there is no stopping him at the moment. United should still try to sign Jadon Sancho in the summer, but it wouldn’t be the end of the world if they strengthened other key areas of the team. Would it?
One adds more balance to United’s attack and most importantly is a lot better in front of goal. James shouldn’t feel any injustice at being left out of starting teams.
Read more: Exclusive: Daniel James’ agent rules out loan move and hails Welshman’s character
