On loan winger Daniel James is expected to stay at Leeds United if they are relegated to the Championship on Sunday.
That is according to Leeds Live journalist Beren Cross, who claims James has not done enough to earn a move back to the Premier League and is therefore set to remain at the club.
James was deemed surplus to requirements at Leeds in August last summer and as such, was sent on a season-long-loan to Fulham.
The deal includes an option-to-buy of around £20 million but James has struggled for regular game time at Craven Cottage making it unlikely they trigger it.
Of James’ 19 Premier League appearances at Fulham, only five of those have come from the start, with the Welshman scoring twice and assisting once.
James expected to stay in Championship
Leeds are currently blessed with a plethora of options on the wing, and in terms of names and numbers, it is probably their strongest position on the pitch.
In the event of relegation, though, at least two of those – Luis Sinisterra and Jack Harrison – are almost certain to leave, while Wilfried Gnonto will also be hot property.
James could be a useful player to have in the Championship in case they leave, but those names mentioned above are littered with quality and Leeds cannot afford to not replace them.
On the other hand, it begs the question as to what sort of impact James could really have in the second-tier, based on the type of opponents Leeds could be up against.
James’ game very much relies on his blistering pace and if Leeds are coming up against deep defensive lines every week – like under Marcelo Bielsa – the 25-year-old could actually be fairly redundant.
His future is just one of a number of massive decisions Leeds will have to make this summer.