Leeds United’s Dan James let Marcelo Bielsa down vs West Ham | OneFootball

Leeds United slipped to yet another disappointing defeat in the Premier League as they lost 2-1 to West Ham on Saturday afternoon.

Marcelo Bielsa’s side took the lead thanks to a strike from Raphinha, before an own goal from Junior Firpo and a late finish from Michail Antonio ensured the Hammers claimed all three points from their trip to Elland Road.

And while the performance was hardly the worst the Whites have produced this season, it was a case of there being yet another ineffective display from one of their summer signings: Dan James.

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After an anonymous showing against Newcastle United last week at St James’ Park, Bielsa kept his faith in the young Welshman on Saturday, but he failed to justify his manager’s trust.

As per Sofascore, he made just four passes in the time that he was on the pitch, and managed just eight touches of the ball – to put that into context, Crysencio Summerville had almost half the touches that James did despite only coming on in injury-time of the second-half, while it was also far less than goalkeeper Illan Meslier too.

James also attempted no dribbles whatsoever while he only had the one shot on goal, and he didn’t help out defensively either, making no tackles or interceptions and winning no duels either.

And, writing in his post-match player ratings for Leeds Live, Beren Cross gave him a five, saying: “Arguably the only Leeds player not to have a sustained impact on the first half showing, which was possibly reflected in his half-time removal. Still getting to grips with the system perhaps. Showed bursts of speed, but could not hurt the visitors.”

After being incredibly quiet against the Magpies last time out in the top-flight, James would have been desperate to show Leeds fans what he can actually do following his deadline day arrival from Manchester United.

Instead, it was yet another dismal showing that let Bielsa down again.

Meanwhile, Phil Hay has delivered an update on this former key figure at Elland Road…