‘Reece James to leave Chelsea’ after devastating twist
Reece James’ future at Chelsea is looking increasingly uncertain amid the latest devastating update on his situation.
Speaking on Thursday (21 November), his manager Enzo Maresca revealed that the right-back will be absent from his side’s trip the King Power Stadium to face Leicester City on Saturday afternoon.
That comes after the 24-year-old picked up another hamstring injury in training, with Maresca admitting he is not sure how long the setback will keep him out for.
Now, it could well be the case that this setback for James will push him even closer to the exit door at Stamford Bridge.
Reece James has uncertain Chelsea future under Enzo Maresca
As anyone who follows football will surely be aware this is far from the first hamstring injury that the right-back has had to deal with in recent times.
The 24-year-old missed the vast majority of last season with a similar problem, then suffered another just before the new campaign kicked off which kept him out until October.
Indeed, injuries have been a theme of the past few years for the Chelsea man. Since the start of the 2022/23 campaign, James has managed just 39 appearances in all competitions (Transfermarkt), and just four so far this term.
With these problems showing no signs of abating the Blues may feel it will be difficult to continue to rely on the right-back in the future.
Indeed, the club do have another option in that position who is emerging into one of the most reliable in the league, in the form of Malo Gusto.
Having only arrived at the start of last season he has already emerged 48 appearances in total for Chelsea (Transfermarkt), considerably more than James in more than double that time.
He is perhaps also making a bigger direct contribution on the pitch, with 10 assists since his arrival, compared with two goals an four assists for the Englishman since the start of 2022/23, a year before Gusto’s arrival.
The form of the 21-year-old could therefore make it hard for James to get a regular starting spot in Maresca’s starting lineup, even when he is fit and available, with the Blues captain shifted to left-back for two of his four outings so far as the Frenchman kept his preferred slot.
Malo Gusto makes Reece James exit easier for Chelsea
Indeed, while the right-back is a player who prefers to stay out wide, the new Chelsea manager has seemingly favoured a system of inverted full-backs.
Given that may not suit James either it is another issue that could make it hard for him to get into the XI.
After so long out he will be desperate to do that when fit, and so that may mean he is forced to look for a move elsewhere.
Meanwhile, the right-back appeared to take aim at some of his critics and a lack of “respect” in an Instagram post reacting to his latest setback this week.
That may suggest an element of tension is developing between the player and some Chelsea fans, which could also push him closer to a departure.
Of course, there could be other landing spots for him as well, with Real Madrid among those who have been linked with the 24-year-old [Daily Mail].
Having come through the youth ranks with the Blues, things going the way they have will surely be tougher to take for James than anyone else, as he surely would have wanted to make things work at Stamford Bridge.
His elevation to captain by Mauricio Pochettino should have been the start of a new era for the club led by a homegrown defender, but if he can hardly get on the pitch his chances of emulating John Terry are non-existent.
In the end though, it may turn out that a parting of the ways between Chelsea and the right-back proves inevitable as things come to a head against a backdrop of constant pressure to get over his injury nightmare
In other news, Ben Chilwell has seemingly dropped a hint on his future at Cheslea.
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