The Leeds winger began his first Premier League match of the season this weekend

Daniel James was handed his first Premier League start of the season against Bournemouth on Saturday and was one of the best performing players out of a sombre bunch.

It was quite a U-turn from Daniel Farke, who had left him out of the squad for the trip to Sunderland, even though he was fit. Last Thursday, the Leeds United boss had urged him to stay available amid a rough 18 months blighted by setbacks.

“Each and every training day, it’s important for his belief, but also for our belief, in his body and also for his rhythm,” said Farke. “Just being available at this level is not enough.

“You have to earn your spot in the traveling squad or to be on the pitch to get some minutes if it's from the bench or in the starting 11.

"I have to say he was already a bit in my mind for the last game as an option because you could see him improving day by day.”

Noah Okafor’s late injury in the final training session on Friday opened the door for James not only to get back into the squad but begin on the left. No player completed more than his three dribbles across the match.

One of his four crosses almost found the outstretched boot of Dominic Calvert-Lewin in the first half while his 88.9% pass completion rate was joint-top of the Leeds chart alongside Jayden Bogle.

Before the weekend's match, James had played just 52 minutes of Premier League football. He had missed the 2-1 defeat to Arsenal and the 1-1 draw with Manchester United due to a back issue picked up during the international break.

It meant, following his Sunderland omission, he had not played a Leeds game for more than a month by the time he was given the nod for his 150th appearance at Bournemouth.

In the week prior to his selection, Leeds Live asked readers what they would like to see happen with James come January.

A portion of 36% of the 1,150 votes said they would sell him, not seeing him as necessary for the squad any longer. However, the majority of 55% said they would keep him on given the low numbers in the squad.

Leeds left two places empty in their Premier League squad list, albeit this was partly due to Jean-Matteo Bahoya not needing to be listed with him being aged 21. Farke has often stated how he prefers a tighter-knit squad, and puts squad harmony over taking a risk over a player he is unsure about.

In the James poll, a total of nine per cent said they would loan James out in January and allow him to regain the confidence Farke alluded to. The winger has a contract at Leeds until 2029.