Jordan James has indicated he views Leicester City as more than a brief stop in his career, with the new midfielder declaring: “I want this to be my home.”
James has arrived on a season-long loan from Rennes, but there is an option in the agreement for City to make the move permanent next summer.
The 21-year-old is already hinting that would be his preference. For now, the aim is to help the club reach their target of returning to the Premier League.
“It’s been really good,” James told the club after his first day of training on Thursday. “Just being around the facility, it’s a big old place, so I’m just getting my bearings with everything.
“The lads have welcomed me with open arms. The staff have been really helpful. I want this to be my home, so I need to be familiar with people and the place, and I feel that will slowly happen.
“It’s somewhere I’ve always wanted to be. I’ve always had a feeling about Leicester.
“It’s a place that should be in the Premier League and hopefully us as a team can do that for the whole club.”
James is more likely to make his debut off the bench on Saturday rather than start, with Wales duty meaning he will have had only a couple of training sessions with his new side before the trip to Oxford.
But he does feel prepared to fit into Marti Cifuentes’ squad, with the manager wanting him to function in a similar fashion to how he plays for his national team.
That would see James begin at the base of midfield rather than in a more attacking role.
“I’m more than ready,” James added. “I had a full pre-season and I’m ready to go when I’m called upon.
“I had a few chats with him (Cifuentes) and we’ve already built quite a good relationship. The way he wants me to play is very similar to the way I play with Wales.
“That benefits me in the sense of already knowing what I’m doing. It’s just little things that he wants that I need to work on and hopefully when it all comes together it will pay off.”