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Football

31st Jan 2019

Swansea star Daniel James undergoes medical at Leeds United ahead of loan

Wayne Farry

daniel james

The midfielder is set to join Leeds United on loan

Swansea City’s highly regarded young midfielder Daniel James is undergoing a medical at Leeds United after the two Championship clubs agreed a deal.

The 21-year-old has been chased by the Elland Road club for a number of weeks, and was subject to a £5 million bid from Marcelo Bielsa’s team, which was reportedly rejected by the Swans.

But the Welsh winger is now close to signing for the Championship leaders after the two sides agreed a loan deal until the end of the season with an obligation to buy should the club win promotion to the Premier League.

Speaking on Thursday afternoon, Bielsa described the potential addition of James as a “significant transfer” for his side, who remain three points clear of Norwich at the top of the Championship despite suffering three defeats in their last five league games.

Since taking control of Leeds during the summer, Bielsa has been an enormous proponent of the club’s youth products, with 11 player under the age of 22 featuring in the league for them this season.

18-year-old Jack Clarke has been particularly impressive for Leeds, and his performances – as well as those of other youngsters at the club – will be especially sweet to supporters who remember former owner Massimo Cellino’s threat to completely do away with the youth academy while in charge.