England: Thomas Tuchel reveals Chelsea talks over Reece James as he plays down Enzo Maresca theory

Evening Standard

·24 de marzo de 2025

England: Thomas Tuchel reveals Chelsea talks over Reece James as he plays down Enzo Maresca theory

Tuchel appears unlikely to follow the Chelsea boss in using James as a midfielder

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Thomas Tuchel says he sought extra assurances over Reece James’s fitness before handing him an England recall, and poured cold water on Enzo Maresca’s theory that the Chelsea star’s future lies in midfield.

James marked his first England start in two-and-a-half years with his first international goal during Monday night’s 3-0 victory over Latvia, with a sensational free-kick setting the Three Lions on their way to their second win in as many matches under Tuchel.

The defender had gone two years without playing for England at all before coming on as a substitute against Albania last week, having seen his career badly disrupted by knee and hamstring issues.

James has managed a better run of fitness since the turn of the year, but given his record there were concerns when he was left out of the squad for last month’s FA Cup defeat to Brighton, while he also missed the recent win over Leicester through illness.

“We were in close contact in the last weeks and were absolutely sure and clear that he trained for several weeks without pause,” Tuchel explained.

“If he didn’t play, it was the choice of club. He was not injured, they protected him, which is fair enough.

“We knew that he’s in good shape, that he’s in a good space mentally and that’s what he proved. He was very positive throughout camp, full of quality and showed it today on the pitch.”

James enjoyed the best season of his career under Tuchel at Chelsea, playing as a wing-back during the 2022/23 season, having also played a key role in the previous season’s Champions League success.

However, Maresca tends not to employ traditional overlapping full-backs and has experimented with his use of James in his first season in charge at Stamford Bridge.

The 25-year-old’s last three club starts have all come in central midfield, a role Maresca revealed he has had pencilled in for James since he took over last summer.

“We did it very, very rarely with Chelsea,” Tuchel said, when asked whether he also viewed James as a future midfielder. “If you play a dominant match like today, he can be like a hybrid midfielder where he comes from left or right full-back and helps in midfield to create an overload.

“He has the quality on the ball to accelerate with his passes, play chipped balls, switch sides. He’s very confident.

“Once its an open game and a there are a lot of transitions through midfield, I’m not so sure it would suit him perfectly. There cannot be any doubt about Reece’s quality in itself, it’s the highest level.”