Reece James has been in for plenty of praise recently for his performances for Chelsea, most recently at Stamford Bridge against Arsenal.
James was named Player of the Match by the broadcasters for his performance against the league leaders, and The Chelsea Chronicle readers agreed in our post-match poll.
Who was your Man of the Match vs Arsenal?
Alan Shearer named James in his Team of the Week, and somehow the traditional right-back seemed to win the midfield debate that was ongoing between Moises Caicedo and Declan Rice.
It was the third time this season that the Englishman had featured in midfield, starring in that role in games against Tottenham and Barcelona.
Chelsea FC v FC Barcelona - UEFA Champions League 2025/26 League Phase MD5
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Enzo Maresca always saw Reece James as a midfielder for Chelsea
As he was regaining fitness last season, Enzo Maresca utilised him in this role more commonly, especially in the Conference League, allowing his key players to earn a rest too.
One of his most impressive performances came against Copenhagen in the last 16, his first appearance in the competition.
James found the net from distance that day, and Maresca stated after the game back in March that he had always seen him as an option to feature in midfield.
He said to GOAL: “So, you can ask Reece; when I signed with Chelsea, probably the day after, I sent him a video about seeing him as a midfielder. I see Reece as a midfielder, not now – since day one, before I met him for the first time, he was on holiday. I sent him a clip about him playing as a midfielder.
“I mentioned Reece playing as a midfielder a long time ago. He is playing there now but the good thing is he played this year already as a full-back, as a centre-back and in the central midfielder. The main target for us is to help him be fit all season.”
F.C. Copenhagen v Chelsea FC - UEFA Conference League 2024/25 Round of 16 First Leg
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Maresca performed masterstroke with Reece James
Despite being criticised for how he was using James at times last season, the manager deserves an incredible amount of praise for how he has helped his captain on the way to recovery.
Chelsea can be accused of rushing him back on numerous occasions when he has been injured before, however Maresca continued to use him off the bench even when the Blues would have been better using him.
It has now been over a year since James suffered a serious injury, and Chelsea are benefitting from his newfound availability now.
The Blues will now hope the boss can do something similar with Wesley Fofana and Romeo Lavia, who have both suffered with significant injury issues.