Chelsea captain Reece James is preparing to revive his England career by being given opportunities to feature by current England manager Thomas Tuchel.
The 25-year-old has been a regular for the national team since his former boss took over the national team, and James’ stunning free-kick against Latvia announced his status as a genuine option for his country again.
James played 90 minutes in England’s underwhelming 1-0 win over Andorra in World Cup qualification, however many raised their eyebrows when seeing how the Three Lions were looking to utilise him.
After Tuchel claimed James was a right-back option for him, he instead lined up on the left of defence in Spain, with his role changing to become part of the back three when they had possession.
Enzo Maresca has very rarely used James as a traditional right-back, with him playing a number of different roles, including central midfield alongside Moises Caicedo and Enzo Fernandez.
Despite England picking up a clean sheet, a selection of national media were not overly impressed with James’ performance, as a number of players struggled to impress.
The Evening Standard handed him a 6/10, saying: “Asked to play in the less familiar left-back position but fulfilled the task well, releasing Madueke with one excellent, incisive pass. Struck a poor direct free-kick which flew miles over late on.”
The Sun however gave James a 4/10, stating: “Just 24 hours after James said his best position was right-back, Thomas Tuchel played him at left-back. He did not look that comfortable. He also produced a terrible delivery at a free-kick near the end.”
Maresca’s Reece James plan at Chelsea
Despite showing traits of the best right-back in the world during the early years of his career, injuries have heavily impacted the Englishman’s ability to play the role to the full.
This has led to the manager managing his workload brilliantly in the second half of the season to the point where he was able to make a real impact on the crucial final games of the season.
Maresca sees James as a midfielder, and believes he can have a bigger impact on the side from that position.
“You can ask Reece, when I signed for Chelsea, the day after I sent him a video about seeing him as a midfielder. I see Reece as a midfielder.
“Since day one. I sent him a clip when he was on holiday about how he can be a midfielder. He has played in full-back, central defender, so the main target for us is to keep him fit.”
It remains to be seen if James will take part in the second England fixture against Nicolas Jackson’s Senegal side, before the Blues jet off to take part in the Club World Cup.
