How Much Daniel James Will Earn at Man Utd as Old Trafford Move Nears Completion
Manchester United are expected to hand Swansea winger Daniel James an enormous pay rise when the 21-year-old finally completes his much talked about move to Old Trafford.
James is believed to have successfully undergone a medical ahead of the proposed move, worth anything between £15m and £21m depending on which reports you read, and a public announcement is expected to come in around a week's time.
The Wales international has only just finished his first proper season as a first team player at Swansea and a report from the Daily Mail estimates that he has been earning a weekly wage of around £4,000 at the Liberty Stadium.
The newspaper goes on to note that his expected weekly salary after agreeing the switch to United will now jump to £67,000, an astonishing 16-fold increase. The figure is described as an 'indication of United's faith' in the player, who was relatively unknown until recently.
The Mail also explains that the Old Trafford club 'stepped up' their interest in James when it became increasingly clear than Borussia Dortmund starlet Jadon Sancho was a step too far.
A report from the Evening Standard also explains how United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer 'reluctantly accepts that Sancho may be out of reach'. The same is also said to be true of West Ham and England shield Declan Rice, who has also been linked with Manchester City.
The capture of James and the interest in players like Sancho and Rice is more evidence of United's changing transfer policy that now puts greater emphasis on developing domestic talent, rather than established overseas stars after buying a number of expensive flops since 2013.
United are still said to be eyeing the likes of Crystal Palace full-back Aaron Wan-Bissaka, who the Standard suggests they are unwilling to pay more than £50m for, Leicester maestro James Maddison, breakthrough Newcastle midfielder Sean Longstaff, and teenage Stoke defender Nathan Collins.