Danny Murphy has stressed just how important Reece James actually is to the Chelsea side.
Reece James, who became the Blues captain in the summer, is regarded by most fans as one of the standout players at Stamford Bridge.
The 24-year-old star offers so much to the team at right-back from both a defensive and offensive standpoint, which is what makes his bad luck with injuries extremely frustrating.
He picked up his latest hamstring problem last week. The Athletic has since claimed that they’ve heard from one source connected to Chelsea that James may struggle to return before the end of the season.
Key Chelsea figure
Danny Murphy has noticed a big drop off from Chelsea when James is not in the XI. We’ve seen the same pattern for the last couple of years, too.
He also expressed his shock that the Blues medical team can’t get to the bottom of these repeated injury interruptions.
“I’ve got to feel for Reece James. People want to criticise a player when they get injured all the time because they think it’s mentality. Look, seven times hamstring injury,” Murphy told FIVE’s YouTube channel.
“What baffles me, the medical departments were great even when I was finishing, why can’t they find what it is?
“When he doesn’t play they’re not as good.”
Reece James makes huge differece
James is a superb 1v1 defender that gets the better of most wingers he comes up against.
As for the full-back’s attacking exploits, he’s a fantastic crosser of the ball and technically very gifted.
He’s probably the one player you wouldn’t want to take out of the Chelsea XI, but yet again they’ve got to find a way to try cope without him.
Malo Gusto, 20, is a like-for-like replacement at right-back. Of course, he’s not yet at the same level as James.
Meanwhile, TEAMtalk has reported that Borussia Monchengladbach defender Nico Elvedi has emerged as a £30million transfer target for Chelsea.
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