Daniel James has insisted that he will have no problems celebrating a Leeds United goal against former club Manchester United on Sunday.
Premier League ties between the two arch-rivals have proved few and far between of late following the Whites’ long wait for promotion back to the top flight.
However, the three matches since Leeds’ Premier League return in 2020 have produced 14 goals. Aside from a 0-0 draw at Elland Road last term, the Red Devils have won the other two ties by four goals or more.
Indeed, the Old Trafford club won 5-1 against Leeds in their opening game of this campaign.
Ahead of Sunday’s clash at Elland Road, James’ career is another subplot of the match. The former Swansea winger almost got a move to Leeds in January 2019, but the deal fell through. From there, he spent two years at Old Trafford before finally getting the move to the Whites last summer.
Asked by The Times if he will therefore celebrate if he scores against his former club, James said: “Of course I’d celebrate. I can’t not.
“It’s what the game’s about, a lot of emotion. I’ve got no hatred towards Man United. I left on good terms. I’ve still got a lot of friends there.
“It’s a great feeling scoring. So of course I’ll celebrate. I want to score every game. Some players really want to score against their old club, and give it back to the fans.
“That’s not me. The fans were great to me there. The fans are great here.”
James will fancy his chances of netting too, after hitting three strikes in his past six games in all competitions. Two of those came in a thrilling 3-3 Premier League draw with Aston Villa, where the Wales international could easily have had a hat-trick.
Indeed, James has cemented himself as a regular starter for Marcelo Bielsa’s Leeds side.
He has also developed versatility to his game, regularly playing in an unfamiliar No. 9 role in the absence of Patrick Bamford. James recently hailed Bielsa’s advice for helping him flourish this season.
Daniel James rates Man Utd career
Meanwhile, James spent two seasons at Man Utd, scoring nine goals and assisting nine others in 74 appearances.
However, he was never a nailed-on starter for the Old Trafford club under then-manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.
He often came on towards the end of matches with his pace to either kill a match off with a counter-attacking goal, or help nick a crucial late strike.
James insisted that while he enjoyed his time at Man Utd, his spell there saw him move away from his best form.
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“I had a great time at Man Utd,” the forward said. “Some people can talk of my time there as a failure but for me I played so many games, I learnt so much and it was a great experience with top players.
“The difficulty was in dealing with the pressure that clings to that red shirt.
“With a club like that always comes a lot of stuff on and off the pitch, the expectancy to win, and things are always thrown your way.”
“I was coming away from who I was as a player and why I got bought in the first place. I felt part way through I’d become safe. If you’re going to be safe you’re going to be out of the team.”
“I looked back at a lot of games,” he says. “I had to really look at how I can get back to that Swansea [form] and be who I wanted to be. It’s up to me to be bold and brave.”
Daniel James concluded that he feels he has “so much more” of his potential to reach.
The post No hesitation, as Daniel James reveals Leeds goal celebration plan against Man Utd; names Red Devils low appeared first on TEAMtalk.
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