‘It’s important in football to react when things aren’t going so well’: Dan James insists he can handle playing for Man United as their poor form continues

Daniel James insists he is tough enough to handle the strain of top-level competition amid Manchester United’s woes.

The forward has joined up with Wales ahead of Euro 2020 qualifiers with Slovakia and Croatia following a positive personal start to the campaign with his club – despite their slump to 12th in the Premier League.

James, 21, has quickly become a key player for both club and country and insists the pressure of representing both does not worry him.He said: ‘In the Premier League this season a lot of clubs have young squads showing what they can do. I’ve always dealt with things in exactly the same way.
‘It was the same when I was at Swansea and things weren’t going so well.

‘It’s important in football to react when things aren’t going so well. It’s alright when things are going good, but it’s important to deal with things when it’s bad.’James has been one of the young stars of the Premier League this term and, given he was born in Beverley, near Hull, he would have been eligible for England.

But the former Swansea player, whose father was Welsh, revealed he was never chased by the country of his birth.

He added: ‘He took me to a camp in north Wales when I was 12. Ever since then I’ve always played for Wales age groups growing up. I can’t say England have ever tried to pick me.’