The 28-year-old defender also speaks to Leeds Live about Tarik Muharemovic and the noise around his £8m exit from Leicester City

James Justin is one of the bargain buys of the Daniel Farke era. There is lots of competition in that regard.

Ao Tanaka, Ethan Ampadu and Dominic Calvert-Lewin all cost £7m or under - nothing in the case of the latter. More recently, Nico Elvedi arrived for around £8m and Harry Wilson on a free. Both could move into that category in time.

But none are as versatile as Justin, who says Leeds United have offered him “a new lease of life” upon his 2025 arrival from Leicester City for an initial cost of £8m plus potential £2m in add-ons.

“I'm grateful that the club had that faith in me and hopefully I've repaid that so far,” he adds in a conversation with Leeds Live. Even at full whack, most would agree Justin has been more than worth the money.

At the time of his move, Justin was subject to criticism from some Leicester fans, who were unhappy with his final season at the club and were not afraid to share their belief that Leeds had overpaid.

Did Justin hear any of that? “No, not really. I would say I obviously didn't leave Leicester on the best of terms in terms of getting relegated twice in three seasons, and we weren't great that year at all, and I wasn't great that year, I'm not afraid to say that.

“I didn't play to the best of my ability, for whatever reason, I don't know. But it's been a good start here so far.”

A student of the game?

Given his current regular-starter status at Elland Road, it is remarkable to remember that it took until late November last year for him to be handed his full Leeds league debut - at left-back, in that famous trip to Manchester City where last season pivoted in a hairpin.

Justin has played in his natural right-back - or right-wing-back - position in just 12 of his 46 Leeds appearances. His utilityman adeptness has seen him play 13 times as cover on the left - but today, he is known as a marauding wide centre-back, having played there for 19 games now.

“I feel like it just comes naturally most of the time,” says Justin when asked about his ability to be so multi-faceted.

“A student of the game? I wouldn't say I'm overly big on watching games or anything like that. I feel like the majority watch more games than what I do.

“But I've just been around football for quite a long time now, so I kind of understand what I'm good at and what my limitations are really.

“And I just try to play to my strengths as much as possible. Obviously there are still things you can learn and you're never perfect, but I'll say it comes more naturally with age as I've grown up, to be honest.”

Becoming a Leeds leader

That humility and experience combined with his football intelligence has impressed Daniel Farke so much that he named Justin in his 2026/27 squad leadership group, which is spearheaded by captain Ampadu, only a season into his stay at Elland Road.

Justin, very appreciative of being bestowed the honour, explains: “I feel like I can give some advice to players that haven't got as much Premier League experience as me and I've just tried to stay calm when other people are heated and stuff.

“I can morph. If I need to be more vocal, I can be more vocal. But most of the time, to be honest, we've got a good changing room and we're all very mature and have played in top leagues in the world, so there's not too much to worry about in that regard.

“I just lead by example and try to stay cool throughout, whether it be a high or a low, just try and stay level throughout.

“I'm not afraid of telling someone what they don't want to hear because at the end of the day, we're all professionals and we want to be the best we can in every way.

“And if they've got something to tell me, I'm not going to take that to heart and I'm going to add that to my game, because we're all trying to become better individually to become a better team at the end of the day.”

Speaking about Justin back in March, Farke forecasted that “after his career, he’ll be a top coach” - though the player himself isn’t so sure.

“Because there's too much pressure on coaches, I would say, and too many decisions to make," he grins.

“I don't mind the tactics of the game and stuff like that, fine, but being front and centre is a difficult job - I have to take my hat off to the boss, obviously.”

Daniel Farke

On the boss, questions linger over his contract. Farke is in the final eight months of his deal, with pen not yet put to paper on a renewal, despite talks having been ongoing since the summer.

The noises sound promising; managing director Robbie Evans said the delay in getting everything signed and sealed is merely down to the absence of a need to rush. All parties are on the same page when it comes to the long-term vision of Leeds.

Justin hopes Farke does end up penning a renewal but insists the situation is not impacting the mindset of the players. “For us it doesn't really matter to be honest,” he details.

“It doesn't affect how he's coaching us or the drive that we've got within the dressing room, and that's obviously for them [hierarchy] to sort out.

“It's just, I would say, about being professional in every position - whether that be CEO of the club, CFO, media, communications. If they're negotiating a new contract you expect them to stay professional until their contract's up.

“Hopefully he [Farke] signs a new contract, but we know if or when that happens he's going to act the same before and after, because we're all striving towards the club being back where it should be, to be honest.”

Justin has played under 11 coaches during his senior career, including seven permanent managers; among them Brenden Rodgers, Steve Cooper and Enzo Maresca. What is different about Farke to the others he has worked under?

“I would say he's stricter than other managers that I've had in terms of his ground rules around the place. Each manager has their idea of how they want their team to act and perform on the pitch.

“Our boss has got his own ideas on the pitch, but I would say off the pitch is definitely where he's a bit more different to a lot of the managers that I've had.

“Obviously playing under different managers is also another string to your bow, because you understand different types of people and how to manage and thrive in their environment. It's been a pleasure playing under him so far.”

Tarik and Trafford

Justin goes on to explain how he is also delighted to play alongside new signing Tarik Muharemovic, who has had a stellar start to his Leeds career after his £34m move from Sassuolo.

“He's obviously been amazing so far and I think he's still got levels to go and he'll become one of the better defenders in the world,” Justin says. “If he keeps playing the way he does, he'll have a big, big future for sure.”

He hands similar praise to £40m club record arrival James Trafford. “To be honest, from the first moment he walked out onto the training pitch, you just felt that presence about him,” the 28-year-old adds.

“He's obviously a world-class goalkeeper and there's no doubt about that and he definitely does give you a sense of security back there.”

England and Europe

Muharemovic himself, inevitably, has previously branded Trafford as his own personal “England number one, for sure”. Leeds have two players in the Three Lions squad for the Nations League, with Calvert-Lewin also in the fold.

When the subject turns to Justin’s own hopes of an England recall - having earned his sole cap in the Nations League in 2022 - the defender cools the idea and instead directs the attention onto another Leeds bargain buy.

“Do I think about an England call-up? Not really. I understand football and the way it goes in terms of England and I feel obviously the man sitting over there, and we've spoken about him before, is due a call-up before I am to be honest.”

That man is Jayden Bogle, who is another defender who also arrived at Leeds to cries of overpayment from Sheffield United fans amid his £5m switch across Yorkshire.

“He's got a lot of potential,” Justin adds. “I'd back him as a player to go into that [England] group and perform to the abilities that I know that he's got.

“When that day comes, and I'm sure it will hopefully come soon if we obviously keep it up as a team throughout the season, I'll be cheering his name.

“I feel like he's a top-class player, and especially with the dominant style that England play in the majority of their games, it'd be perfect and definitely be a luxury player in that England team.”

While England are playing in continental action again this break, what about Leeds next year? Farke has said it is “not realistic” for Leeds to grab a European place this season. Does Justin agree?

“Yeah, I would say so. Obviously we're in our second year in the Premier League, we're not expecting to qualify for Europe or anything. We just want to first of all secure our place in the Premier League, whether that's week 35 or week 25, we don't care when it is.

“And then after you've secured your position, then you can look upwards. And we don't want to get too naive and think after the first five games that we're going to be in Europe for the whole season.

“The level in the Premier League's really difficult and a lot of games can swing either way, and yeah, if we get there, amazing, but that isn't the goal for this season, and we don't want to fill our heads with smoke, to be honest.”