Frank Lampard claims that Chelsea’s Reece James is still a youngster with an incredibly high ceiling.
Reece James, who’s still only 23, has grown into one of the key first-team players at Stamford Bridge in recent seasons.
Unfortunately, the academy graduate has had his issues with injuries throughout his career so far.
Caretaker boss Lampard confirmed in yesterday’s press conference, via the club’s official website, that James will miss the rest of this season with a hamstring injury.
The defender will certainly leave quite a significant hole in the Blues line-up. In fact, we’ve seen in the past how much weaker the side look without him at right-back/right wing-back.
Lampard has spoken very highly about James following his injury blow.
It’s interesting to hear him state that the 23-year-old full-back still has a lot of potential to fulfill.
“We want to get him (James) as fit as he can be because he is a top player. At the moment, I see him as one of the best full-backs around for sure – and I am talking about world football – and that is at such a young age. There is a big ceiling there for him,” Lampard said, as quoted by the Evening Standard.
If there was a time for James to miss any games through injury, this next month would be the perfect time.
Chelsea know they’re not fighting for any trophies during their final seven games of the season. Instead, the games ahead are about individuals either staking a place for next year or putting themselves in the shop window.
James is one of the few individuals in the entire group you could pick out as a nailed-on starter, so he shouldn’t be worried about his spot going into the next season.
Let’s hope the England international can recover well and be fully fit to start next season with a bang.
Incidentally, journalist Fabrizio Romano has explained on Twitter that rumours linking James to Barcelona don’t hold much weight. In fact, he’s viewed as “untouchable” by the Blues.