Daniel James remains Leeds United’s top transfer target as February approaches, with the Whites looking to finalise a deal for the Swansea City flyer.

Leeds have only added Kiko Casilla to their squad so far and it seems that James is going to be the icing on the cake for Marcelo Bielsa’s promotion-chasing side.

Reports from The Sun yesterday suggested that Leeds would pay £10m to get James, not meeting Swansea’s £12m valuation, but going big to land the winger.

That’s broken down into a £6m fee, with an additional £4m in add-ons should promotion be won and other achievements for the Welshman.

It seems extortionate, but Leeds are paying for the 21-year-old’s potential.

Here at FLW, we take a look at why Leeds should be paying no more than £7m, including add-ons:

Firstly, it’s worth noting that a decent initial fee is going to go down to tempt Swansea into a sale at this late stage of the window, but that shouldn’t be £6m. Something along the lines of £4m would make much more sense.

James is hardly the finished article, having scored only once and registered three assists in 17 Championship appearances this season.

As mentioned, Leeds are paying for his potential at this stage, so they will not want to be parting with a big fee. Adding £3m for promotion and further achievements to reach the £7m mark makes much more sense for the Whites. If James develops how he should, £3m in the future will be justifiable.

However, if promotion is achieved there are no guarantees that James will become an outstanding Premier League player. Gambling a potential £10m on him developing into that is a mistake Leeds don’t really need to be making this month.

The Whites need a winger in the coming days to bolster their squad, but they have to be calculated with what they pay for James, whose impact at Elland Road could come in the future rather than the next 17 fixtures.

Thoughts? Let us know!