"They had courage to play and they played good,” he said after his side knocked Swansea out of the FA Cup quarter-finals.
“[Daniel] James is incredibly fast, so it's not easy. We knew that, we spoke about it."
James is reportedly on the verge of becoming United’s first summer signing.
The 21-year-old was close to joining Leeds back in January for £15m but a deal fell through on deadline day.
Pep Guardiola spoke about Daniel James after their FA Cup clash (Image: GETTY )
Daniel James was blistering in Swansea's loss to City (Image: GETTY )
The winger has his heart set on moving to Old Trafford where comparisons with fellow Welshman and United legend Ryan Giggs will rage on.
A deal of around £15-20m will be completed before Leeds and fellow interested club Brighton can pounce on James.
The Wales international scored six goals in 38 games for Swansea in the season just gone.
He also earned his first cap for Wales in November.
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Man Utd: James moves team closer to Ferguson era says Hislop
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer wants to make Daniel James his first signing (Image: GETTY )
Manchester United are set for one of the most important windows in their long history and will want to strengthen as Ole Gunnar Solskjaer prepares for a mass exodus of current players.
The Norwegian is wanting to rid the club of players he deems not fit to where the United shirt any longer.
Paul Pogba has been linked with a big-money move to Real Madrid while Ander Herrera has already announced his departure from the club
Borussia Dortmund star Jason Sancho is another winger on Solskjaer’s radar but he is likely to cost over quadruple the price of James.