Leeds United managing director Angus Kinnear has blamed 'boardroom politics' at Swansea City for the Whites failure to land Daniel James in the January transfer window.

It became apparent that the 21-year-old was a top target for Marcelo Bielsa last month but there was only a breakthrough on the deal on deadline day.

James travelled to Yorkshire to finalise the move but former Swansea chairman Huw Jenkins refused to send the final paperwork and the deadline passed.

And, the Yorkshire Evening Post revealed that Kinnear addressed the situation in his programme notes ahead of tonight's game - against the Swans: "While the January window began brightly by securing the services of Kiko Casilla, it ended in rather bizarre circumstances when we became the unwitting victim of internal boardroom politics preventing several months of scouting and negotiation from coming to fruition.

"Supporters have asked why the deal was left so late in the window, which ultimately is the prerogative of the selling club, and why there were no alternative options in place."

James could feature against Leeds tonight, with Bielsa's men looking to close the gap on leaders Norwich with a victory.

The Whites have picked up just one point from their last two fixtures, which has seen them lose ground on the Canaries.

The Verdict

Clearly Leeds are not happy with how the transfer window ended and you can understand why as they really wanted James and it seemed as though he wanted to move.

However, everyone knows that transfers are unpredictable and complicated, so despite Kinnear's comments, they should have had tried to tie it up earlier or have alternatives ready.

It was a very messy situation and Leeds will be hoping that it doesn't matter as they look to secure promotion.

Thoughts? Let us know in the comments below.