Redbridge born Reece James was one of the stars of Chelsea’s 4-0 thrashing of Italian giant Juventus in the UEFA Champions League.
Made In The Academy
In an academy dominated performance which saw Trevoh Chalobah, Callum Hudson-Odoi and James all on the score sheet, the young right-back played a decisive part by grabbing Chelsea’s second goal with a ferocious right footed half-volley into the far corner.
He played an integral part in Chelsea’s fourth goal providing a beautiful cross field ball to Hakim Ziyech who assisted Timo Werner for Chelsea’s fourth in added time.
Although James missed out on Man of the Match last night it was clear for all to see that this is a player with buckets full of potential.
Tuchel’s Backing
James has been integral to Thomas Tuchel’s plans at Chelsea this season with the wing back notching four goals and four assists in the league bringing his season tally to five goals in all competitions, bettering his tally for last season dramatically after he scored just one goal in 32 league appearances.
His fluent attacking play along with his defensive acumen and his sweet first touch allow for him to defensively solid and become an attacking threat all at once.
Chelsea legend Joe Cole said while on BT Sport last night: “‘I was blown away by his technical ability. Especially for such a big, strong, athletic lad. His touch is velvet, he makes the right pass, takes the right decisions. When he gets in front of goal it is like your top, top strikers’ level of composure and technique.”
Tuchel has also said that James ‘hasn’t reached his full potential’ ahead of claims that James was one of the best right backs in the world. Tuchel said at a press conference: “For me, I see no reason why we should now get carried away and think about things like is he the best in the world, the best in England or the best in Europe.”
Eclipsing 2020
James has played in nine of Chelsea’s 12 Premier League games so far this season only failing to appear in three due to a suspension for a straight red card at Anfield earlier this season.
Looking at James’s stats so far for Chelsea this season, one aspect that stands out is his tackle success rate, which currently sits at 91% and with Chelsea only losing one league game this season when he features in their match day squad.
The sky is well and truly the limit for Reece James, currently in the form of his life and putting in high calibre performances week in week out, we could be looking at a potential World-Class wing back.
