‘I was hoping’… Gareth Southgate says he wanted to call 23-year-old Chelsea player up to England duty

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Gareth Southgate has shared that he wanted to include Chelsea’s Reece James in his latest England squad.

However, the 23-year-old Blues defender isn’t going on England duty during this month’s international break.

The Three Lions announced this afternoon on X a 25-man squad for fixtures against Malta and North Macedonia in November.

There’s room for Chelsea duo Levi Colwill and Conor Gallagher in the group.

However, Blues skipper Reece James is not joining up with the England camp next week.

Missing England duty

England manager Gareth Southgate has shared today that Chelsea’s club captain is turning down an international call-up in November due to fitness reasons.

In fairness, the right-back made his first Premier League start since the opening day during Monday’s 4-1 win against Tottenham.

Southgate said in Thursday’s press conference, as quoted by England’s X account: “I was hoping to call [up] Reece James. He doesn’t feel he’s quite ready and I understand that. He’s had a long path back from a number of injuries so he’s probably a little bit cautious in that respect. I can understand why.”

Cautious Reece James

For Chelsea, it’s good news that James won’t be risking his fitness this month. We just hope it doesn’t impact his England aspirations further down the line.

With Euro 2024 around the corner next summer, James will definitely want to make sure he’s on the plane.

The talented full-back has been extremely unfortunate with several injuries already during his career, which is why the club needs to be extra careful with him.

As quoted by Olivia Buzaglo on X this week, Manchester City’s Phil Foden named James a the toughest full-back he ever faced.

In our view, if fit, James is a banker in Southgate’s England squad. It would be fantastic to see him stay fit and get a long run of games from now until the end of the season.