‘He inspires me’: Brentford defender claims he is basing his game on 22-year-old Chelsea player

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Brentford defender Rico Henry has claimed in an interview with the Daily Mail that he is basing his game as a wing-back on Chelsea man Reece James.

The 22-year-old had been one of the best full backs in the league before his season was interrupted by a knee injury.

The setback will see him almost certainly miss this winter’s World Cup with England.

The Chelsea man was sure to be amongst Gareth Southgate’s starting line-up next month, leaving him having to rethink his plans for the match against Iran.

Another name who is hoping to be involved in the Three Lions squad is Henry, who has enjoyed his own personal strong start to the campaign across West London.

Henry inspired by James

The Blues will get a first-hand viewing of how good he is tonight, when they look to continue their winning run under Graham Potter across the capital.

Henry has now claimed that when learning how to bring the best out of himself as a modern wing-back, he has turned to James for inspiration at both ends of the pitch.

He said: “For sure, you can’t have it all but you’ve got to work on it. Reece James is good at both. He inspires me as well so I just want to keep going, getting goal contributions.”

James’ attacking qualities have been well-documented for a while now, however this season his defensive capabilities have been on show to a much greater extent.

In two crucial Champions League group games against AC Milan, the Blues needed wins to save their competition after a tough start to the group.

Facing Rafael Leao, one of the world’s most dangerous wingers, James brought out arguably his best defensive displays to shut down the Portugal international, helping put the club within touching distance of qualifying for the last 16.