Home » Daniel James shines as Manchester United fall apart against Southampton

Daniel James shines as Manchester United fall apart against Southampton

by Leo Nieboer

Daniel James served as Manchester United’s only real shining light during a pitiful 1-1 draw with Southampton at St Mary’s.

The 21-year-old, signed from Swansea City over the summer, claimed his third goal in four league games through a fizzing strike into the top far corner.

While other Man United players receded into their shells as the game went on, James simply kept coming, burning down that left-hand side and supplying excellent crosses which nobody managed to get on the end of.

His numbers from the game tell the story of a player who was, from start to finish, looking to make things happen.


The immaturity of this United attack does not escape James, who made a few naive decisions on the ball, but at least the Welshman displayed some actual hunger whilst making those mistakes. There was, at least, a concrete idea behind it all.

Time and time again, James shot forward – sometimes jinking inside, sometimes putting on the burners and heading for the touchline. With him on the ball it felt as if openings were possible, whereas others like Marcus Rashford, Paul Pogba and Jesse Lingard only found dead ends.

There is, you suspect, a reason behind why United’s best three players, once again, were the ones who had signed this summer.

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