Daniel James

First team breakthrough On 6 February 2018, he made his Swansea first-team debut as a late substitute, scoring in the 82nd minute of an 8–1 FA Cup victory over Notts County.

He made his league debut for Swansea on 17 August 2018 in a 0–0 draw against Birmingham City in the EFL Championship. In December 2018, with James now a regular and one of the standout performers for Swansea, manager Graham Potter revealed that the club were looking to open talks with James over a new contract. Despite discussion of a move to Leeds United during the January 2019 transfer window, James was named in the starting line-up for Swansea against Birmingham City on 29 January, with James scoring his second goal of the season in a 3–3 draw.

On 31 January 2019, with James expressing his desire to leave Swansea to join Leeds, a structured £10 million fee was agreed between the two clubs, James agreed terms and completed the medical at Leeds, and was at Elland Road conducting signing interviews and announcement photoshoots ahead of the deal being completed. However, after speculation of a disagreement between Swansea owners and their chairman regarding the structure of the deal only an hour before the transfer window's 11 pm deadline, James was left at Elland Road awaiting the deal to be signed off by Swansea, with the window closing at 11 pm.

After Swansea failed to complete the deal, James' agent said it was "very disappointing", stating: "Swansea made no attempt to keep the player and at the first sign of money they couldn't show him the door quickly enough." At the end of the 2018–19 season, with Leeds missing out on automatic promotion, Leeds head coach Marcelo Bielsa said that he refused to blame the club for missing out on James, but said, "I'm not underlying the importance of the absence of James".

Manchester United

On 6 June 2019, James underwent a medical with Premier League club Manchester United ahead of a transfer for a reported fee of £15 million with the potential for additional payments. After agreeing a deal "in principle" on 7 June, United announced the signing of James on a five-year contract on 12 June, with an option to extend for a further year. He scored his first goal for the club on his competitive debut, coming on as a substitute to score United's final goal in a 4–0 win over Chelsea. He also scored in United's 2–1 loss against Crystal Palace. In only his fourth game for United he scored his third goal for the club in a 1–1 draw with Southampton, which was later voted goal of the month by United fans. James was also voted United player of the month for August. In March 2020, James ended a seven-month goal drought by scoring in a 5–0 win over Austrian team LASK, the final game before the suspension of football caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

On 20 December 2020, James scored his first league goal of the season in a 6–2 win against Leeds United. On 2 February 2021, he scored United's Premier League record-equalling goal in the 9–0 home win against Southampton.

Leeds United James signed for Premier League rivals Leeds United on 31 August 2021 for an undisclosed fee on a five-year contract, having nearly joined the club two and a half years prior to the transfer. Many news outlets were reporting the fee to be £25 million. He scored his first Premier League goal for Leeds on 21 November, in the team's 2–1 loss at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. On 11 May 2022, James was sent off during Leeds's Premier League match against Chelsea for a challenge on Mateo Kovačić.

James scored 13 goals and added seven assists during his first season in the Championship with Leeds, which saw them fall short of promotion to the Premier League, losing 1–0 to Southampton in the Championship play-off final on 26 May 2024. In James' second season in the Championship with Leeds, he scored 12 goals in the league, which was second on the squad, only to Joël Piroe's 19, adding nine assists, which was third on the team, behind Manor Solomon and Junior Firpo. On 3 May 2025, James won the Championship title with Leeds and was promoted back to the Premier League with a 2–1 win against Plymouth Argyle at Home Park. The following day, James was named Leeds United Player of the Year for the 2024–25 season.

Loan to Fulham On 1 September 2022, James was loaned out to Premier League club Fulham until the end of the 2022–23 season.

International career Youth levels Born in England, James qualifies to play for Wales through his late father, Kevan, who was born in Aberdare.

Senior team James playing for Wales at the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar.

James received his first senior call-up for the 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifying game against Serbia in 2017 by manager Chris Coleman James scored his first Wales goal in only his second cap, netting the only goal of the game in the opening minutes against Slovakia in his competitive home debut. During the September international break, James netted the only goal in a friendly win against Belarus. In May 2021, he was selected for the Wales squad for the delayed UEFA Euro 2020 tournament. In November 2022, he was named in the Wales squad for the 2022 FIFA World Cup. On 26 March 2024, he missed the deciding penalty as Wales lost the shoot-out against Poland in the UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying play-off final and failed to advance to the final tournament.

Style of play James can play as a winger, and also as an attacking midfielder.

2017–18 Premier League

2018–19 Championship

Shrewsbury Town (loan) 2017–18 Premier League

2020–21 Premier League

2021–22 Premier League

2022–23 Championship

2024–25 Championship

2025–26 Premier League

2026–27 Premier League

Fulham (loan) 2022–23 Premier League

International

Wales' score listed first, score column indicates score after each James goal. Premier League Cup: 2016–17

Manchester United UEFA Europa League runner-up: 2020–21

Leeds United EFL Championship: 2024–25

Individual Swansea City Best Newcomer of the Year: 2018–19 Swansea City Community Champion: 2018–19 EFL Championship Team of the Season: 2024–25 Leeds United Player of the Season: 2024–25 PFA Team of the Year: 2024–25 Championship