Leeds United winger Dan James reveals he was kicked out of changing room by ex-Sheffield Wednesday boss

The 26-year-old is a key figure for the Whites, having been brought back into the fold following a loan spell at Fulham. He has made 39 appearances under Daniel Farke, scoring 13 goals and registering seven assists.

Although clearly appreciated by Farke, James has revealed he was once demoted from the senior set-up at former club Swansea by Carvalhal. Speaking on Leeds’ official YouTube channel, the Wales international has admitted he was punished for a late showing prior to a game against Tottenham Hotspur.

He said: “I did get sent out of the changing room once. He [Carvalhal] wasn’t actually that strict, he was a nice guy, funny. He always came out with crazy quotes after games and things. I was a young lad, I was in the first-team changing room, probably didn’t deserve to be in there because I wasn’t really in the squads, I was just kind of training with them.

“We go to the stadium, park there, and then get a bus to the training ground, which is two minutes away, for pre-match. I basically woke up, my phone was out of charge, I’d charged it, it’s 9:15am, everyone’s calling me.

Sign up to our new Sports Editor’s TeamTalk newsletter available this week

"Obviously I’m a young lad, I’m panicking. They said, basically, ‘get yourself here now, we’re going to go over, so meet us at the training ground’. I’m thinking ‘I’m going to have to walk in here now, I’m going to be late, I’m a young lad’. I got a call halfway there so say I’m not in the squad now, which was obviously so tough."

Not only had James been removed from the squad, he later discovered his belongings had been removed from the first-team changing room.

The winger explained: “It was silly from me. I went to see him after the game, apologised, I was going with Wales the next day. He said ‘oh, it’s fine, don’t worry about it’. I said ‘I’m really sorry, it won’t happen again’.

"I got back and all my stuff had been moved from the first-team changing room to the [under] 23s. Obviously, it was super embarrassing but I learnt a lot from that.”