Former Leeds United star Noel Whelan insists Swansea City winger Daniel James would look more menacing if he played for a better team.
James, who was on the verge of joining Leeds on deadline day last month, made his second appearance since the move collapsed during the Swans’ defeat at Elland Road on Wednesday.
Graham Potter’s men were comprehensively outplayed by the hosts and James could do very little to prevent the Whites from inflicting a 2-1 defeat on his team.
Despite failing to make a notable impact against Leeds on Wednesday, Whelan has backed James to perform better if he is given the opportunity to represent a better unit than Swansea.
The former Whites striker even went on to claim that James could still be disappointed that his move to Leeds failed to materialise and stressed that he has plenty of potential in him.
“I think he'd be better in a better side”, Whelan said on BBC Radio Leeds after the match.
“Look, he didn't get much change [in the game] out of the Leeds team.
“They were very dominant, very aggressive, and I think he realised what it was all about.
"He's probably still disappointed that the move never actually occurred.
“You can see the lad's got a lot of potential, a lot of pace and he is intelligent with that as well.
“But it is difficult for me to make a judgement on the player after we were dominant over every [Swansea] player.”
It remains to be seen whether Leeds will renew their interest in James, who has a contract with Swansea that runs until 2020, during the summer transfer window.
