Dan James is one of three former Swansea City players in the ranks of Leeds United ahead of this weekend’s clash in South Wales.
James, Joe Rodon and Joel Piroe all enjoyed fruitful spells with the Swans before departing for pastures new, which has seen the trio land together at Elland Road.
Piroe scored and celebrated in both meetings against his former club last season and it would be fair to say Swansea supporters were less than impressed.
James was also on the scoresheet in the 3-1 win home win 12 months ago and though he didn’t go quite as crazy as Piroe, he didn’t hold back completely.
And despite James and Piroe both being on the bench last time out against Queens Park Rangers, it wouldn’t be a surprise if they returned to the starting line-up for this one.
James shares whether he’ll celebrate for Leeds
This will be just the second time James returns to Swansea as an opposition player, with the first coming for Leeds back in February.
However, James was only a late substitute that night and entered the field when Leeds were already 4-0 ahead, meaning he didn’t have an awful lot of involvement and the home support were past caring.
As mentioned, his chances of starting this weekend’s fixture are considerably higher, though, and so he could properly meet the rath of the Swansea support for the first time.
In an interview with the Yorkshire Evening Post, James was asked whether he would celebrate if he gets on the scoresheet but admitted he would find it difficult to.
He said: “When we played them at home I scored in the first half and I was a bit gutted it didn’t count because it was a bit offside. I scored later on and I think with everything going on you kind of forget.
“If I did score it would be hard for me to celebrate but obviously inside you’re buzzing. I haven’t been there for a long time, but I still respect the club a lot and what they do.”
James explains Swansea respect ahead of Leeds clash
Even after Swansea pulled the plug on James’ move to Leeds back in January 2019, he also revealed it is a club he still has a ‘lot of respect for’.
Elaborating on the likelihood of his potential celebration being subdued this weekend, he reflected on the time he spent at the Swans and how it helped him become the player he is today.
He said: “I’ve got a lot of respect for Swansea. They picked me up when I was a scholar and I had great times there.
“I went from a boy to a man there, the years from 16 to 21 are the most important and really define who you are as a player but also a person. I made great friends there, I owe the academy staff a lot.”
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