The Welsh winger has had a topsy-turvy career at Old Trafford and here we’ll look at the positives and negatives to keeping him in the squad.
PROS
He has a unique skillset
Daniel James could become a bit frustrating on occasion, but his ability cannot be questioned. The winger’s lightning-fast speed and acceleration with the ball isn’t something many can replicate at the club. He also possesses that penetration and driving nature to get the ball up the field and is clever with his movement in behind defenders.
Against sides with slower defenders, he can be a real asset with his pace. James is also really promising on the counter-attack because of his speed and can help finish them off with efficiency, so that’s something that can benefit Man United especially when using Dan as a substitute.
He can play as a wingback
While James is naturally a winger, his defensive attributes mean that he can even slot in a more cautious role if needed. That means that the Welshman can slot in as a right wingback if Ole Gunnar Solskjaer ever needs him to do so. He can do really well in the 3-5-2 formation because there are enough defenders to back him up if James loses defensive duels too often.
He can provide a more prominent attacking threat than Aaron Wan-Bissaka and create more through the right if playing as a wingback. His versatility itself is a reason for James to remain a part of the squad.
There aren’t really many natural replacements for him
United have quite a few issues revolving the right wing position at the moment, as we’re lacking some top-class wingers in that side. James is one of the players who can at least put in a shift in the role, with Mason Greenwood being his only competitor.
Unless and until United buy more right wingers, it wouldn’t make sense to sell James as that would only hamper the squad depth and decrease the number of options in that area.
CONS
He is too inconsistent
After a blistering start to his career at United, it seems that James lost his consistency somewhere in his journey. He tends to put in some superb performances occasionally (like against Leeds) but can’t maintain his rich vein of form over extended periods.
The Welshman can’t consistency produce goals or score them, which isn’t acceptable at a club like United. So as long as he can’t fix his consistency issues, James will, unfortunately, remain a frustrating player to watch for the fans.
Lacks decision-making and discipline in key areas
James can be a bit frustrating to watch on occasions, but there’s no denying his ability to at least move into promising attacking positions in nearly every single game. The thing which he horribly lacks is to deliver from those prime areas in the final third. His crossing ability is quite mediocre, with most of his attempts being wasted.
Even when he’s in free space with a clear view of a passing opportunity, James botches his opportunities. There’s also the tendency of going down to the ground too easily which gets him booked and caused embarrassment for the entire team. Unless he can fix his decision-making issues and be more disciplined, James will struggle to get minutes at United.
Not mentally or physically strong enough for the Premier League
James’ physical weakness have caused him a lot of problems in the Premier League, as he tends to be overpowered too easily by defenders in the final third. He also lacks that mental fortitude to thrive when the pressure rises and has crumbled under adversity too many times over the last year or so.
The Welshman really needs to add some power to his body and be braver when going forward, or else his style tends to be too predictable and causes him despair time and again.
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