This article is part of Football FanCast’s Pundit View series, which provides opinion and analysis on recent quotes from journalists, pundits, players and managers…
As quoted by The Manchester Evening News, Daniel James has been compared to PSG sensation Kylian Mbappe, by the manager of Hungary.
What did he say?
James has been a revelation for Manchester United since arriving in a £15m deal from Championship side Swansea in the summer. The 22-year-old has scored three goals and provided a further three assists in his 16 appearances across all competitions, and has firmly established himself as a key part of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s first-team.
Speaking ahead of their clash against James’ Wales on Tuesday night, Hungary boss Marco Rossi lauded the winger’s abilities, and made a stunning comparison to Mbappe.
He said: “James is a player that is playing with a motor bicycle because he is really fast. I have never seen someone in the last period as fast as him, maybe Mbappe. He’s unbelievable. If we leave him (James) space to run he could be dangerous. This could be the key, but we work a lot on the defensive line and will try to give confidence to our players.”
Development
From playing in the Championship just a few short months ago, to being compared to one of biggest talents in world football, it really has been a remarkable rise for James. The Welshman has come on leaps and bounds in his time at Old Trafford, and has been a consistent performer for the Red Devils in what largely has been a difficult campaign thus far.
As per Whoscored, he has impressive averages of 1.5 shots, 0.9 key passes and one dribble per game, whilst he has arguably been unlucky not to have picked up more assists thanks to some profligate finishing from some of United’s forwards. As the Hungary boss says, his searing pace causes problems for any defence, and Solskjaer has used it to great effect when the side have played on the counter-attack. Rossi’s comments will be music to the Norwegian’s ears, and a great appraisal of the work he has done in developing the £15m man.
