Leeds United missed out on Daniel James in the January transfer window.
Leeds United director of football Victor Orta has told Off The Pitch that the club simply had bad luck in their pursuit of Daniel James.
The Whites were looking to land a new winger in the January transfer window, and had set their sights on landing James from Swansea City.
He was far from a big name at the time, but Leeds had identified him as a real talent for the future given his blistering pace – but their pursuit ended in heartbreak.
As reported by the Yorkshire Evening Post, Leeds had a deal set up to sign James on deadline day in January, but Swansea went quiet in the final hour-and-a-half of the window, meaning the move fell through despite the winger being in West Yorkshire to finalise his move.
Leeds will have been frustrated with that situation, but it got even worse for them as James anded up signing for bitter rivals Manchester United instead just months later.
The Welshman is now thriving in the Premier League, and Leeds director of football Orta has given his view on the situation, claiming it was all about bad luck.
Orta thinks Leeds negotiated well with Swansea, but an internal issue with them meant no deal happened – and he then turned his attention to another winger in Helder Costa.
Signed on loan from Wolves this summer with a permanent move set up for 2020, Orta admitted that Leeds can’t afford a permanent deal this summer due to Financial Fair Play, and thinks the loan can get the Whites promoted to the Premier League.
“Daniel James was a situation about luck. I think we made a good job. But at the end an internal issue in Swansea meant the situation did not happen,” said Orta.
“With the rules of financial fair play we cannot afford a permanent transfer, but we are really happy if you can make good loans it can be a good strategy. And in the past a lot of teams have been promoted with a good loan policy,” he added on Costa.
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