'He has got unbelievable feet'
Manchester United winger Daniel James has enjoyed a great week after scoring in wins over Real Sociedad and Newcastle United.
The Wales international will be looking to add to his tally against the Basque side at Old Trafford on Thursday and he has spoken to United Review, our official matchday programme, ahead of the second leg of our Europa League round-of-32 tie.
Although the main focus is on his own game and how he has managed to return to peak form, the 23-year-old also discussed the arrival of Amad, Jack Grealish's praise for James's individual display in our 4-0 victory in Turin last week, and gaining a place in the Europa League Team of the Week, alongside two fellow Reds.
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Amad made his senior debut for United when coming off the bench late on against La Real and was in the middle when James opted to fire the ball home for the final goal in the 90th minute.
The Ivorian youngster, bought from Atalanta, has clearly caught the eye at the Aon Training Complex and manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has confirmed he will be in the squad again for Thursday's tie, even if he will not start.
“Amad has come in and, as a young lad, he’s been unbelievable in training,” revealed James. “I mean his professionalism [is very good] and he’s settled in straight away, I’d say, do you know what I mean? We see his quality in training, he has unbelievable feet, but we’ve seen he also presses well and wins the ball back, which is exactly what we want.”
James's own pressing has been a feature of his play and this was certainly evident again the first leg. An explosive performance on the right flank attracted a social media post from Aston Villa star Jack Grealish, who had been watching on television.
After a message of “Well done lad” from the England international, we were wondering where the pair had met, as they have never played for the same side.
“Yeah [we're friends], I’ve met him a few times as we actually have the same agency,” he explained. “I’ve seen Jack on holiday a few times actually and he’s a very nice lad.”
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James will hope to give the Spanish defenders a torrid time again in Manchester as Ole's Reds look to book a place in Friday's draw for the last 16 of the Europa League.
So impressive was his display at the Allianz Stadium that he earned a spot in the competition's Team of the Week, alongside team-mates Eric Bailly and two-goal Bruno Fernandes.
“I think, whenever I get called upon, I must always be ready,” he replied. “It was an enjoyable game. At times, we had to be patient as they had a bit of the ball. We always knew that because they are a very good team, especially on the ball. So they were going to keep it, at times, but I think our game plan came together a lot better in the second half. We made a lot of breaks and that is how we got the goals.
“Obviously it’s not over yet as they have still got to come to us, but we will go into the game with the same attitude as we did for the away tie.”
Read the interview in full in United Review – which is available to buy now.