Nearly gave up on playing professional football, admits Daniel James
Manchester United star Daniel James has revealed that he nearly quit football as a teenager before eventually opting to put his head down and concentrate. The 21-year-old has had fans chanting his name since his arrival at Old Trafford, making an instant impact for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's side.
Daniel James has gone on to admit that he almost quit football at the age of 12, before changing his mind. Ever since his arrival at the Theatre of Dreams, the 21-year-old has turned quite a few eyes with some brilliant performances. Having moved from Swansea for a fee of £15 million, James scored on his Premier League debut against Chelsea and has netted two more since then. He has also shined for his national side, scoring a wonder goal for Wales in a recent friendly against Belarus.
Despite his recent successes, James admits it wasn't always easy for him during his youth career at Hull academy and that he even decided to quite once upon a time, before changing his mind after a talking to by Hull City coaches.
“At the start, when I got to nearly 12 years old, I actually nearly gave up football. I wasn’t enjoying it. I was telling my mum and dad: ‘I’d rather be playing other football'. Or I was missing out with my mates. I was training most nights and was missing out. I was coming back from school and wanting to go out with my mates, but I had to go training. I had a serious meeting with the coaches at Hull [for them] to say: ‘No, we think you’ve got the ability and we want you to stay on here’. Thankfully, from there, I did stay on,” James told Inside United.
Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has put his faith in James and the winger has been repaying that faith with some dazzling performances. He could become a key cog for the Red Devils as the season progresses.