Daniel James will bring 'a bit of everything' and why I wanted a midfielder at Leeds United - Tony Dorigo

Marcelo Bielsa clearly adores wingers.

The way Leeds United play we certainly need a lot of pace down the sides of teams and deadline day signing Dan James has that, along with the right mentality.

Everyone knows how we play but you have to be willing to give absolutely everything to the cause and he fits that.

Manchester United fans have been wishing him well because he’s given 100 per cent for their club and I’m sure he’ll do the same for ours, so that will endear him to Leeds fans.

I remember watching him against us for Swansea and he was superb, the one who looked a level above. Marcelo, almost obsessed, has been chasing him for a good while, and we’ve got him now, a player who can go to feet and beyond, a player with some variation in his game.

As a full-back when you come up against a player who is a certain type, it can be easy to defend against, you know what’s going to happen - if they’re lacking in pace you just get nice and tight.

But with James you’ve got a bit of everything, you know he’s going to be busy, he’s going to annoy you and when a full-back gets on the ball he’s got the tenacity to chase him down. That’s something our players have to do and when they come to Leeds they learn that, but I think James comes ready packaged.

When you look at our wing options, we’re pretty good.

Helder Costa was flying last season and I thought we would see the best of him but he hasn’t kicked on. There is plenty to be excited about, however.

In Raphinha you have one player who can do everything, he gets you off your seat, takes people on, scores goals, has that hunger and looks a great buy, he’s been superb. Jack Harrison on the other side has just got better and better.

He has great tenacity, great ability, is diligent defensively and his attacking game has improved - his control is exceptional and his dribbling wonderful.

Last season his goals and assists were extremely valuable.

I like what I see so far from the other new boy, Junior Firpo, too.

Going forward he has looked extremely good and there’s been some good link-up play with Harrison already. I think Jack is perfect for Junior defensively because he’ll go with his man, you can trust him a heck of a lot.

Where I see one or two things that Junior can get a little better at is at one-on-ones, stopping absolutely everything from passes to crosses and getting really tight. He just needs to adapt a little more to the English game, but he looks an athlete, gets up and down the pitch and because he’s getting used to the Premier League, family life in a new country and the Bielsa regime, we can cut him some slack.

If you were looking at the squad and asking where we could improve, it’s in midfield.

I always felt they needed that No8. Adam Forshaw coming back will help out, but that’s where we could have improved this summer. We certainly tried and I don’t think we should be paying crazy amounts of money, over-paying is not the way. Firpo was the one that was really important but another midfielder would have been good.

As with everything, the Premier League is a long old season and it’s when you start getting one or two injuries that strength in depth is vital. James, at least, offers that.

So far this season the form, the 100 per cent performance we saw last season, I haven’t seen just yet. We’ve seen it in parts. The Burnley game was a little disappointing, we just didn’t work out a way to beat them. Marcelo will be looking at how we can rectify that over the international break.

We missed a couple with Covid-19, but you’re going to have to rock and roll with that throughout the season. I don’t think there should be any over-reaction, we’ve got a couple of draws, all is fine, but Marcelo will be eager to get the boys firing, back to where they were, when we play Liverpool.

One player who will come back raring to go is Patrick Bamford. I’m delighted about his England call up, because it’s been difficult for him at times. He was a star, a young kid from Nottingham Forest who went to Chelsea but never quite got into the team and was shipped out here, there and everywhere.

He looks to me like one of those players who needs someone to put an arm around him and really believe in him.

It’s a strange combination, given Bielsa and the way he coaches, but Patrick has come to Leeds, changed his game, improved and developed that aggressive streak.

Walking into an England camp for the first time is a little unnerving. I did it when I was 22 and the first person I got roomed with was Bryan Robson, the England captain.

That was interesting. I was the one asking what time he wanted his cup of tea and what time he wanted the lights off.

No doubt Patrick will be okay, but I think it does take a little while to settle in. This group of England players seem really comfortable with each other, there’s a great spirit and he’ll be welcomed with open arms.

An England call up has taken a while but it’s brilliant to see. He probably just about deserved it last season because an English striker scoring that many goals should be there or thereabouts.

He’s paid his dues.