Dan James is gearing up for his first reunion with Manchester United since Ole Gunnar Solskjaer sold him to Leeds in the summer.
Marcelo Bielsa’s man will host United in front of a full house for the first time in the Premier League in almost 20 years.
The atmosphere will be electric and James was asked in an interview with the Times if he would celebrate if he scored against United to continue his hot form.
The Welsh international said he would but also sent a message to United’s fans, saying they were great with him during his time at the club.
“Of course I’d celebrate. I can’t not,” he said. “It’s what the game’s about, a lot of emotion. I’ve got no hatred towards Man United. I left on good terms.
“I’ve still got a lot of friends there. It’s a great feeling scoring. So of course I’ll celebrate. I want to score every game. Some players really want to score against their old club, and give it back to the fans. That’s not me. The fans were great to me there. The fans are great here.
“I had a great time at Man United. Some people can talk of my time there as a failure but for me I played so many games, I learnt so much and it was a great experience with top players.
“With a club like that always comes a lot of stuff on and off the pitch, the expectancy to win, and things are always thrown your way.”
James was a good professional during his time at United and his enthusiasm and commitment to the cause could never be called into question.
It looked like he struggled with that expectation to win having jumped straight from the Championship to Old Trafford and that had a visible impact on his confidence.
He has three goals in his last five games for Leeds and has found his feet there after a period of adjustment.
A James goal at Elland Road tomorrow would likely send Leeds fans wild and crank up the atmosphere even further, and he has the pace to trouble Harry Maguire at the back.
Ralf Rangnick will hope he has enough to deal with James on what is another crucial afternoon in the chase for the top four.
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