

Leeds United are close to finalising a new contract with Daniel James.
The 27-year-old’s exisiting deal expires in June 2026 and, after arguably the best season of his career, securing his future was among the priorities at Elland Road this summer.
James is currently on holiday and yet to sign the paperwork but all parties involved in the negotiations are confident this will be resolved over the coming weeks.
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Incoming transfers are dominating United executives’ schedules, but the winger will be invited in to sign when the right moment emerges.
The Wales international joined Leeds in August 2021 for £25million ($33.9m), two-and-a-half years after a transfer from Swansea City fell through with James already inside Elland Road. He struggled to make an impression in his first season in West Yorkshire and was then sent on loan to Fulham in 2022-23.
James was with the west London side as Leeds slipped out of the Premier League in May 2023, but he returned to play a major part in the run to 190 points across two Championship campaigns under Daniel Farke. Forty-one goal involvements across 79 league appearances followed over the past two seasons.
In 2024-25, James was named Leeds United’s Player of the Year, shortlisted for EFL Championship Player of the Season and PFA Championship Players’ Player of the Year, as well as making the EFL Championship Team of the Season.
‘James the standout contract Leeds need to resolve’ – analysis
This contract would mark a remarkable turnaround in James’s fortunes and reputation at Elland Road. As his loan to Fulham in 2022 underlined, things were not going his way at all in Leeds.
James was used plenty by Marcelo Bielsa, but it was often as a striker when the team’s other options were injured. It’s not a position which has ever looked like suiting the winger and he never found any meaningful form, though the same could be said for his time with Fulham too.
It was not a loan which put James in the shop window and there were never any murmurings about him moving on when Leeds were relegated. The drop has proved to be everything James needed.
Yes, he was now facing inferior opposition, but the Championship gave James the platform to rebuild himself and his momentum. Injuries have cruelly stopped him in his tracks on a few occasions under Farke, but the German has got the best from the winger.
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James has found a killer instinct in the final third and was rightly in the conversation for player of the year awards last month. Of those Leeds players with contracts expiring in 2026, James was the standout name that needed to be tied down.
The big question now is whether James can keep those goals and assists flowing in the top flight.
(Photo: George Wood/Getty Images)
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