There is so much demand in football these days for everyone to be an instant success that everyone forgets the human elements of a big transfer and how it could impact a player.
Daniel James had one season as a first team player in The Championship for Swansea before moving to Man United. It was expected he might be used sparingly, but he’s actually become one of the main attacking players for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.
He still looks quite weak physically and it’s possible he’s still used to being protected by referees like he was at Swansea. The big problem for him is it’s so easy to get a reputation as a footballer, it’s almost impossible to shake that reputation.
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He’s been booked twice for “simulation” and caused controversy after staying down after a head knock for Wales before claiming he was actually fine. Once referees figure out that he goes down too easily, it gives the opposition more leeway to by physical with him before a foul will be given.
We saw this with Luis Suarez, once he got that reputation it was almost like the opposition knew they could constantly thump him without consequence.
It sounds Like United have tried to help the young Welshman to bulk up. The Sun reported that following the constant allegations of going down to easily and looking weak, United have placed him on a special training programme to help him with his physicality.
They need to be careful, James is lightning quick and that’s a big reason why he’s impressed so much recently. They don’t want to bulk him up to the point he slows down and loses the key part of his game.
It will take a while for this training programme to yield results, but hopefully it helps him develop to that next level as a top level player who performs on a consistent basis.