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Manchester United midfielder Daniel James admitted he has been surprised by the amount of playing time he has been granted since arriving at the club in June.

United swooped for the Welsh winger over the summer following his impressive performances for Swansea in the Championship last season, where he scored four goals and created seven assists in 28 appearances and terrorised defenders with his pace.

It was thought that James would be slowly integrated into the United team but he made a lightning start to his career at Old Trafford, scoring on his debut against Chelsea and then bagging two more in his next three games.

(Image: Action Images via Reuters)

Since then he has practically been an ever-present in Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's starting 11, but speaking to United's official website the youngster confessed he was surprised by the faith put in him straight away.

"I'm very pleased," James said. "When I came here I didn't expect to play so much at the start, but I have, and that's big credit to the gaffer and the staff here. Now it's about me continuing to do what I've been doing, I want to look at how I can add more goals and more assists to help the team."

James also said his dream debut against Chelsea helped his confidence and gave him the belief that he could play an important part in the season.

He added: "I came on in the Chelsea game with a bit less pressure given we were 3-0 up already and it was about how I could get into a position to score. It was an unbelievable feeling and then going into the next few games with a couple more goals really helped me settle in.

(Image: PA)

"When the gaffer brought me in, he told me that I would play an important role here. Maybe I didn’t think I’d play as much as I’ve played now but that’s down to the gaffer and the staff pushing me and me working hard, and that’s something I’ll continue to do."

James will hope to add to his tally for the season when United host bitter rivals Manchester City in their Carabao Cup semi-final first leg on Tuesday.