Leeds United star's Premier League return 'excites' Neil Warnock as transfer warning sent
Leeds United's players will be testing themselves against Premier League opposition next season.
Former Leeds United manager Neil Warnock cannot wait to see Daniel James running at Premier League defences after promotion was confirmed this week.
Leeds now know they’ll be playing top-flight football next season after watching Sheffield United fall to defeat at Burnley on Easter Monday. Daniel Farke’s side thumped Stoke City 6-0 earlier in the afternoon and players stayed at Elland Road to watch the action from Turf Moor before celebrating with thousands of fans outside the stadium.
James was front-and-centre of those post-promotion scenes but missed out against Stoke, having only returned from a hamstring issue off the bench at Oxford United last Friday. The winger might well have had a field day too, with Jayden Bogle’s performance evidence of a vulnerability down the visitor’s left-hand side.
Regardless, James will get another shot at proving himself in the Premier League, and he returns to the top-flight off the back of his most productive campaign with 12 goals and nine assists enough to earn him a nomination for Championship Player of the Season. And Warnock, who was also quick to praise Farke for his work, is looking forward to seeing the 27-year-old test himself against the world’s best again.
“All credit to Daniel Farke,” Warnock told talkSPORT. “He had some stick earlier in the season, they weren’t getting wins, they had four or five games without a win and the crowd were getting a bit irritated. But I think he’s done a fabulous job, he’s brought the best out of them.
“My favourite player is Dan James – I’ve been watching him for a couple of years. He just excites me. I’m looking forward to seeing him go at defenders in the Premier League.”
Neil Warnock fires summer transfer window warning at Leeds United
Confirmation of Leeds’ promotion has been the catalyst for an influx of transfer rumours, with Elland Road chiefs now certain which division they will be recruiting for this summer. And there have been links across most positions in the squad, from Wolves goalkeeper Sam Johnstone to Brighton and Hove Albion striker Evan Ferguson.
Leeds have also been linked with a couple of central midfielders, namely Borussia Monchengladbach’s Julian Weigl and Hidemasa Morita of Sporting CP, and many expect 49ers Enterprises to splash the cash in a bid to survive. But Warnock has warned against going too big in the summer market, instead stressing the importance of keeping the current morale intact.
“I think from a manager's point of view, it's alright saying you have to get quality players in, but you’ve got to get the best out of what you’ve got and bring two or three quality players in,” the former Leeds boss added. “You can't be chopping and changing, bringing in six or seven, you’ve got to hope the team spirit that got you there, plus another two or three good players, can get you through it.
“You’ve got to be careful though because the players you bring in, they have to be the right character. You don't want to destroy the dressing room spirit, if there’s the odd player that thinks he’s better than the rest then all of a sudden you’ve got a poisonous dressing room. So it's a difficult time for the managers.”
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