Jamie Redknapp was left waxing lyrical about one Chelsea player following the comeback victory on Saturday away to Nottingham Forest.
Chelsea had to come from 2-1 down to end up with a precious 3-2 win at the weekend over Forest in the Premier League.
Mauricio Pochettino’s side stay seventh in the division table after the result, but they’re now level on points with sixth-placed Newcastle United going into the final two matches of the season.
Mykhailo Mudryk put the Blues in front before Forest replied with two goals. Thankfully, Raheem Sterling, followed by Nicolas Jackson, scored late on to seal an away victory. In fact, it was the first time Chelsea had won away in the league since 12 February versus Crystal Palace.
- READ MORE: Chelsea player ratings vs Nottingham Forest, Reece James back with an assist plus star man gets 8/10
Jamie Redknapp raves about Chelsea star
Sky Sports pundit Jamie Redknapp loved what he saw from Chelsea’s Reece James on his return to action at Forest.
The club captain played just over 10 minutes as a substitute at the City Ground, his first minutes since December because of injury. It was still enough time for the 24-year-old right-back to assist Jackson’s winning goal with a pinpoint cross.
“That is fantastic from Reece James. The keeper tries to read it, but the weight of the cross is just crying out to be headed into the net,” Redknapp said on Sky Sports’ Main Event channel (8:07pm, 11 May).
“It’s almost like we’ve forgotten how good he is, because if you remembered, you wouldn’t have let him have that much space. He just lifts a delicious cross.”
When discussing the chances of England taking James to the Euros this summer, Redknapp later added (8:29pm): “I think talent-wise, he’s as good as any right-back in the world. I think it would be a bit of a gamble [taking him to Euro 2024]… He’s going to get two games now, Brighton and Bournemouth. It might give him some minutes that he needs. It would certainly be a risk, but he has got so much talent and if he can stay fit he’s one of the best. It’s just whether Gareth [Southgate] feels it’s a risk worth taking.”
Reece James can lead top-four bid next season
The Chelsea Chronicle is confident that Chelsea can be firmly in the mix for the Champions League positions next season, especially if James overcomes injury struggles to be available for the majority of the year.
Both offensively and defensively, James brings so much to the Blues line-up. There’s definitely more of a feel-good factor when he’s on the pitch.
It feels like Chelsea can keep heading in a forward direction if they have a core group of James, Cole Palmer and Moises Caicedo pulling the strings in the same XI.
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