Enzo Maresca should consider making ‘fantastic’ Chelsea player captain after Reece James comments

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Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca has made some interesting comments about his current captain Reece James.

Reece James was appointed as club captain by Enzo Maresca‘s predecessor Mauricio Pochettino last season.

The defender has spent most of his time on the sidelines since becoming skipper, so he has not really been able to lead Chelsea on the pitch.

Nevertheless, Maresca has admitted that he would have liked to have seen more from him as a captain while he was injured.

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What Enzo Maresca has said about Reece James and Levi Colwill

When discussing James’ role as Chelsea captain, Maresca gave a very honest assessment on the right-back.

“I spoke with him and I expected from him more in terms of leadership, inside the changing room and for different kinds of things,” the 44-year-old was quoted as saying by The Telegraph.

Maresca then went on to praise James’ teammate Levi Colwill for developing into more of a leader, saying: “I think we don’t have a proper leader… the one that is doing fantastic in this kind of thing is Levi.

“Levi probably at the beginning of the season was not a leader but now you can see that he is one of the guys that is always speaking.”

Enzo Maresca should consider making Levi Colwill captain

Just coming back from injury and having now practically challenged James to prove that he can be a leader, it is unlikely that Maresca will strip him of the captaincy.

At this point, though, appointing Colwill or another player as Chelsea skipper has to be a thought in the Italian’s mind.

James was never his choice after all, while the England international is barely on the pitch. Colwill, on the other hand, has cemented a spot in Chelsea’s backline and in Maresca’s own words is becoming a leader.

He is obviously not a terrible player either. “He is a fantastic talent,” Pochettino was quoted as saying by Chelsea’s official website last year when speaking about Colwill.

At 21, some may feel that Colwill is still a bit too young to lead a team like Chelsea, while James deserves time to respond to Maresca’s challenge.

But with Maresca questioning James’ leadership skills and the Chelsea star picking up silly suspensions and red cards, nothing should be taken off the table. It is a subplot at Stamford Bridge that is certainly worth keeping an eye on this season.