One Dan and his dog

After melting hearts on social media this week, Daniel James is hoping to make an even bigger impact on the pitch on Saturday.

The Swans winger, nicknamed the ‘little greyhound’ by team-mate Oli McBurnie, was given a big surprise on his return home from last Saturday’s defeat to Rotherham.

Dog-lover James was given an early birthday gift by his partner in the form of cockapoo pup Hugo, who was eagerly awaiting his return.

His heartfelt reaction attracted a big reaction on social media platform Instagram, with more than 185,000 views so far.

James, who has played a leading role for the Swans in recent matches, has been surprised by the response the clip has received.

“I’ve been asking my partner for a dog for a while and she kept saying no,” James explained.

“She was obviously keeping it for a birthday surprise, and when I came home from Rotherham Hugo was sat on the sofa waiting for me.

“It was a really nice surprise. My partner filmed it and my reaction said it all.

“It’s had around 185,000 views on Instagram, which is crazy. He’s a star already!

“A lot of the lads here have dogs, so I’ll be taking Hugo out on the walks soon.”

James, who is blessed with blistering pace, has hit the ground running after being given a Championship chance by Graham Potter.

After claiming an assist for Connor Roberts’ strike during the 3-1 win over Blackburn Rovers, he followed that up by setting up Oli McBurnie for a brace as the Swans saw off Reading 2-0.

He kept tongues wagging with another mesmerising display last weekend as he crossed for McBurnie once again to open the scoring as the Swans went down 2-1 at Rotherham.

And James aims to keep up his good form and help the Swans bounce back at Bolton this Saturday.

“I’m loving it. I’ve had some ins and outs at the start of the season, but when I started against Ipswich it went well from there,” said James, who links up with Ryan Giggs’ Wales squad next week.

“I came back after the international break and came on at Villa and really pushed on against Blackburn and Reading.

"Hopefully I can keep things going."