Daniel James says he hopes his new contract with Swansea City is sorted soon.
The starlet has enjoyed a breakthrough season at the Liberty Stadium, with a number of eye-catching displays making a number of teams sit up and take notice.
Leeds United have been his main admirers and a transfer saga unfolded during January, with his move to Elland Road all but completed before the plug was pulled at the last minute.
It was a testing situation for all involved, but since that moment James has put it behind him, and it is a testament to the youngster's professionalism that he knuckled down and put in a number of impressive displays.
His sensational goal in the FA Cup against Brentford probably added a few more pounds to his value, but James says he is happy in South Wales, in what will be a blow to Leeds' summer plans.
He told The Telegraph : “I think the negotiations are taking place now.
"I am just waiting on that, I’m happy with it and am letting my agent and the club deal with it and hopefully it happens soon. I want to get into the Premier League and I’d love to do it with Swansea. There may be a time (when I have to leave) but that’s in the future."
Marcelo Bielsa's men are on track for promotion this season to the top flight and could well return in the off season for James - their interest is certainly genuine. But fresh terms would certainly make Swansea's hand stronger. His current deal expires in the summer of 2020.
James revealed he was close to joining Yeovil Town last summer before a chat with Graham Potter changed his mind. “Last season I went to Shrewsbury and it didn’t really work out," he said.
"I didn’t play and I was quite down on myself. My expectations were high on the back of a good season with the (Swansea) under-23s but I didn’t get a game at all and came back early. I grounded myself again.
“I got my FA Cup debut (in the 8-1 win against Notts County in February 2018) and scored and that kind of lifted me a bit. Obviously I wanted Swansea to stay in the Premier League but when they did go down I did think ‘am I going to get my chance?’
“But after pre-season I hadn’t played loads and was thinking ‘maybe not now’. I knew Yeovil in League Two were interested and I said to the gaffer ‘what do you think of me going on loan there?’ and he just said ‘I feel you can be a player here, you can do something for the team’.
“At the time I thought ‘is he just saying that to keep me happy?’ But he chucked me in at Birmingham, first game, a tough game and I came on because he believed in me. Maybe people thought I wasn’t physical enough but I made my first start against Ipswich (last October) and that set me."
