The international break has now come to an end for Chelsea captain Reece James, however Enzo Maresca will not be too happy with what he has seen while he was away.
The right-back started for the Three Lions in a dominant 5-0 victory over Serbia, making it back-to-back games Thomas Tuchel has selected him in the first team.
James was praised for his performance against Andorra, providing a rare shining light in a side who drastically underperformed in that game.
James provided an assist for Declan Rice in that game, but did not contribute to a goal in his more attacking right-back role against Slovakia that he has been protected from at Stamford Bridge.
Enzo Maresca won’t be happy as Reece James plays twice for England
Two starts in the same international break actually sees him already double the amount of them he has made for Chelsea so far in the 2025/26 campaign, with the Blues keen to maintain his fitness for a lengthy period of time.
This has seen Maresca deploy Malo Gusto far more often than perhaps he would even have expected after joining the club with James already in his position.
Tuchel had the option of Djed Spence in his squad to play in the role for England, and Maresca will be disappointed that his skipper was deployed for both games.
The hope will now be that he is in a place fitness-wise to start against Brentford on Saturday, or if not at least be able to feature against Bayern Munich in the return to Champions League action.
James tipped to be ‘difference maker’ for Chelsea
It is clear that Chelsea are a far better team when the England international is available, however over the past few seasons this has not been frequent enough.
Despite this, you have to go back to January to find the last time he has suffered a long-term injury, and there is no surprise the Blues have turned their fortunes around in this time.
John Terry has tipped James to be a ‘difference maker’ for Chelsea this season, however this will all depend on his availability.
Maresca will just be hopeful that the strain put on him by Tuchel will not set their plan back at all.
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