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Reece James was a big talking point with many Chelsea supporters on social media following Thursday’s pre-season victory against Club America.
The Blues continued their pre-season tour of the United States by winning 3-0 against Mexican outfit Club America, with the goals coming from Christopher Nkunku, Marc Guiu and Noni Madueke.
Enzo Maresca’s side had a slow start to their US trip with a draw against Wrexham before defeat to Celtic. However, Chelsea just showed in their latest friendly match that fitness is building within the camp and the ideas from the new head coach are bleeding into the group.
Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall and Filip Jorgensen both made their unofficial debuts for the club during the productive pre-season match. Jorgensen trained for the first time on Tuesday, but the goalkeeper was thrown into the action by playing the second-half versus Club America and keeping a clean sheet.
Reece James of Chelsea competes with Brian Rodriguez & Henry Martin of Club America during the Pre-Season Friendly match between Chelsea FC and...
Chelsea fans delighted by Reece James performance
Many Chelsea supporters really liked what they saw from Reece James as he captained his side to a first win of the summer schedule.
The 24-year-old star was once again named on the team sheet as the starting right-back, but his positioning was different from the previous two matches. While he was asked to invert into midfield in the recent games, his role versus Club America was noticeably different. He stayed deeper and formed a back three in possession, which allowed left-back Malo Gusto to invert infield.
Here are some of the Blues fanbase on X that were all saying James was a lot more comfortable deeper in defence:
One fan said: “Reece James is better at RCB (right centre-back).”
Another wrote: “Already prefer Reece James here.”
One supporter posted: “Inverting the other side and playing James as the RCB should be what we do going forward.”
Another claimed: “Reece James has been decent as a stay-back RCB.”
Someone else replied: “Good position for him. Don’t have to run as much.”
Finally, one fan said: “Reece James at RCB is the solution to losing Thiago [Silva]. There’s stability in that backline, no edginess or frantic performances often seen from [Benoit] Badiashile.”
Reece James solid at the back
For the most part, James looked pretty comfortable at the back as he got another hour into his legs during pre-season. However, let’s remember that his season will start later than his teammates because he’s suspended for the opening three league matches.
The Englishman will surely play a key role in the 2024/25 campaign for the Blues, providing he can stay fit and available. It’s going to be interesting to see how Maresca gets the best from the individual talent, though.
It’s been claimed recently by The Athletic that James is impressing as a leader off the pitch. The way he performed on Thursday in an eye-catching team performance may please everyone even more.
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