It’s never a good sign for a player to head down the tunnel at half-time, only for fans to see his number shown by the fourth official at the start of the second half.
That’s the fate that on-loan Leeds United winger Daniel James suffered yesterday, with Fulham 2-1 down against Bournemouth.
James was replaced by fellow new signing Willian, and the Whites went on to earn a point thanks to Aleksandar Mitrovic’s penalty.
It’s a worrying sign for James that he was the man sacrificed to change the game on Saturday.
Signed on deadline day from Leeds when it became apparent he wouldn’t be first choice at Elland Road, James hasn’t kicked on yet at Craven Cottage.
Marco Silva has an abundance of wide players to choose from in his squad.
In order to stay in the team, James needs to be at his very best, and possibly more importantly, get the best out of Mitrovic.
However, James may now find himself further down the pecking order, especially as fellow Welshman Harry Wilson has returned from injury.
James loan move not going to plan
For much of the summer, James wanted to stay at Leeds and his manager Jesse Marsch was happy to keep the Welshman.
He was closely linked with a move to Tottenham, but the move never materialised.
However, on deadline day, it became obvious that James would have to leave Leeds if he wanted to play more first-team football.
Newly promoted Fulham was where James eventually ended up, but he’s failed to make an impact since joining.
James hasn’t registered a goal or assist yet, and was the man Silva sacrificed with Fulham looking for a goal on Saturday.
The return of Harry Wilson, who was pivotal to Fulham’s promotion last season, might spell bad news for James.
With Willian having a good game against Bournemouth off the bench, and Neeskens Kebano also impressing, he could find himself quite far down the pecking order.
He’s yet to work out how best to combine with Mitrovic in the middle, although he did offer makeshift right-back Bobby Decordova-Reid some defensive cover.
James’ loan deal really isn’t going to plan, and he’ll need to step up quickly if he wants to avoid a wasted season in west London.
Rumours are still circulating that Tottenham are interested in James, who originally signed for Leeds for £25m.
Football London report that Conte is still considering a move for the Welshman.
Fulham may be tempted to cut their losses on James in January, and Spurs could pounce then if they’re still interested.