Red-hot Leeds United winger on comparisons with 157-goal legend and Championship promotion focus
Daniel James and his Leeds United teammates are just eight games from a return to the Premier League.
Daniel James shrugged off comparisons with Leeds United and Wales legend John Charles as he focuses solely on finding success for club and country this season.
James is on course to record his most productive campaign in a Leeds shirt, with a brace at Watford in February taking him to 10 league goals, with nine assists to boot. Those two strikes in a 4-0 win were of particular importance as it took the 27-year-old into double figures for consecutive Championship seasons, joining Welsh compatriot Charles as one of just two Leeds players to do so.
But those accolades will mean little if Championship promotion proves elusive and James’ club boss Daniel Farke challenged his winger to lead a successful push for Premier League football last month. A slight blip halted momentum before the March international break but Leeds are still well-placed to get the job done.
James on Charles comparisons
“It’s always an honour to be put in a category like that,” James said of comparisons with Charles. “I think I’m a long way off to being put in the same bracket as him. Unbelievable career, what a player, a legend of the game. It’s things like that I try not to get too high off.
“Going back to Leeds, we’ve got eight important games left, we’re still at a stage where we haven’t done it yet. But the confidence I have to take from club football into international football is so important.”
James is one of three Leeds players set to face Kazakhstan and North Macedonia in the coming days as Wales kick off their 2026 World Cup qualifying campaign. The Dragons missed out on Euro 2024 this time a year ago in the most agonising fashion, with Leeds’ lighting-fast winger missing a decisive penalty in their shootout defeat against Poland.
Expectation high for Leeds trio
But in getting to the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, Wales proved they have enough quality to come through a qualifying campaign and there is now a level of expectation, particularly given they are yet to lose in six games under Craig Bellamy. But as a regular starter at Leeds, James is no stranger to that kind of pressure.
“I think there’s always a big expectation and that expectation is there now,” the Leeds man explained. “We know what we have to do to get there, we’ve been there before and we’ve just got to take that experience and bring it on to this campaign. It’s never easy, it’s really tough. We’re going to go to some really tough places as well and we know what we’ve got to do.
“I think we were so happy to reach the [2022] World Cup, but we were very disappointed not to be able to go and show what we could do. It's about re-living that moment, all the boys have experienced that and are taking it into this campaign. But we’re not there yet, we’ve got to give everything to be there. We know we’re good enough as a team but we have to go and show that on the pitch.”
Your next Leeds United read: Every international fixture for 13 Leeds United stars