After chasing Daniel James all transfer window Leeds the deal has collapsed in the final moments of the transfer window. James completed a medical at Thorp Arch on Thursday evening and with the deal all but signed was at Elland Road waiting to be announced as a Leeds United player. But Swansea stopped responding to communications and with 11pm passing the transfer window closed. With no deal sheet submitted the transfer was off. Negotiations for James had been protracted with Swansea facing severe financial difficulties but wanting to keep hold of the young prospect, it always looked like going to the wire. With team mates Tom Carroll moving to Aston Villa and Jefferson Montero moving to West Brom it may just be that this was a deal Swansea didn't have to do anymore.
Scout Craig Dean, head of emerging talent for players between the age of 17 and 21, was the man who alerted Leeds Director of Football Victor Orta to James. Marcelo Bielsa was shown video clips of the winger and was immediately impressed. Wing is an area Bielsa identified as needing strengthening following the departure of Lewis Baker and Pablo Hernandez moving inside after Samu Saiz returned to Spain. James has been Bielsa’s number one target for the transfer window to fill this gap and as we know Bielsa knows a good player when he sees one. But the failure to capture the Welsh starlet will leave a gap in the squad for the promotion push.
One ray of hope is the emergence of Tyler Roberts at number 10. His addition ultimately changed the game at the weekend. With Pablo Hernandez moving back out wide he had more space to operate and Mateusz Klich ultimately capitalised on this scoring the winning goal against Rotherham. Roberts will get another chance to impress this weekend as he starts in the crucial game against Norwich. The collapse of the James deal may also mean that Mateusz Bogusz gets his chance earlier than expected. With 17 games remaining of a gruelling injury riddled Championship campaign we could see the young Polish attacking midfielder make a crucial contribution in the push for promotion.