England manager Thomas Tuchel has already stated where he thinks Chelsea’s Reece James best position is

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A lot of Chelsea players will be looking to prove in the next few months that they should be a big part of the new England manager’s plans.

Former Blues boss Thomas Tuchel will take over The Three Lions in the new year, as he looks to win their first major trophy since 1966.

He will no doubt be looking at Stamford Bridge for a number of players he has experience working with in the past, and one of those has been going about his return to first team football very well.

Reece James has featured in four successive Premier League games, playing in a variety of positions across the backline.

Thomas Tuchel thinks Reece James can play centre-back

There has seemingly been some doubts over whether the 24-year-old has the ability to play in the right-sided role under Enzo Maresca, where there is a lot of attacking responsibility.

Tuchel meanwhile has already stated where he thinks the club captain performs at his best, stating that he thinks he can perform just as well in a centre-back role as he can on the right of defence.

He said to the Chelsea website in 2022: “The back three is a little bit less demanding physically, in comparison to the wing-back position, especially given he is coming back from a muscle injury over so many weeks.

“It’s a bit of an advantage to have him in the back three because it’s less physically demanding. But this is the next step. How many games can Reece play at wing-back? If he plays at wing-back during the season on a level where he is decisive, it is a bit less physically demanding in terms of acceleration and high speed in the back three. This helps us have him on the pitch for more minutes.

“He can play both positions brilliantly, we only have him once and we need to decide, but this is why we have him there at the moment. I love him in both positions.”

James could play centre-back for England

If Tuchel brings the back three system he used at Stamford Bridge to England, there is a real chance James to return to international duty in the future.

He has not been called up to the England squad for the current break. Only Noni Madueke will be representing the Blues after both Cole Palmer and Levi Colwill have decided to not represent their nation this week,

The reunion between Tuchel and Colwill could well be awkward, after it seemed as if the former Chelsea manager was happy to build his side without the Cobham graduate as part of his plans.