Reece James has admitted he’s ‘still got a lot to learn’ before mastering his new role at Chelsea. The 24-year-old defender captained the Blues as they kickstarted their pre-season tour of the United States with a friendly against Wrexham.
The League One outfit held Chelsea to a 2-2 draw at the Levi’s Stadium in California and, while James only played the first 45 minutes, he was utilised in a noticeably different role. Rather than bombing up and down the right-wing, the Cobham graduate was instructed to step in-field and join Romeo Lavia in a double pivot.
Reece James has admitted he’s ‘still got a lot to learn’ before mastering his new role at Chelsea. The 24-year-old defender captained the Blues as they kickstarted their pre-season tour of the United States with a friendly against Wrexham.
The League One outfit held Chelsea to a 2-2 draw at the Levi’s Stadium in California and, while James only played the first 45 minutes, he was utilised in a noticeably different role. Rather than bombing up and down the right-wing, the Cobham graduate was instructed to step in-field and join Romeo Lavia in a double pivot.
Then, on his fitness woes, James added: “It’s great to be back out there. I’ve been sidelined for so long in the last two years and to be back out there with my team is an amazing feeling.
“It’s always a dream come true [to be captain], it’s a great feeling to step out and represent the club and to have the armband on it’s a special moment and something I dreamt of since I was a young boy.
“I think [we need to] build game on game, take one step at a time and take each training session as it comes and take pre-season and hopefully come the start of the season we’re in a very good place.”
James suffered a hamstring problem at the start of last season, missing seven of Chelsea’s opening eight games. The 24-year-old defender eventually returned towards the end of October, captaining his side to a 4-1 win over Tottenham Hotspur and a 4-4 draw against Manchester City.
Then, in December, James suffered a reoccurrence of his ongoing muscle issue. He eventually opted for surgery, hoping to cure himself of any more hamstring difficulties.
After a few more months on the sidelines, the Englishman was reintroduced towards the end of the season and provided a match-winning assist against Nottingham Forest. James was then shown a red card in Chelsea’s penultimate game of the Premier League season, ruling himself out of this season’s opening two games.
