Xabi Alonso will be assessing the playing squad available for him at Chelsea for next season, although he may have learned more about Reece James’ availability from his recent comments about his fitness.
James is set to start his first World Cup game on Wednesday when England meet Croatia in their opening fixture.
The Chelsea skipper has proven to be a crucial player during the era of Thomas Tuchel at England, and has admitted he is a huge fan of his international manager.
PREDICTION: Which Chelsea player do you think will have the BEST World Cup?👀
Mamadou Sarr is being slept on…
Reece James tells Xabi Alonso that he can play three 90 minutes in a week
He will no doubt be excited about his incoming club manager too, with Alonso officially set to get to work at the start of July.
Alonso sees James as one of his untouchables, although this unfortunately always comes with the caveat of his fitness concerns.
However, James has told The Mirror that he believes he is ready to play constant football, including as many as three 90 minute games a week.
He said: “I can play three 90s a week. I came back at the end of last season, I played in the last few games and I’m feeling good.
“I think timing is everything, as you said, I’ve missed a few major tournaments. I have tried to be ready and be as well prepared as possible for this one, and I’ll give my country my all.”
Xabi Alonso has his SEVEN Chelsea ‘untouchables’ 👀
Do you agree with them?
- Reece James
- Cole Palmer
- Joao Pedro
- Estevao Willian
- Moises Caicedo
- Josh Acheampong
- Levi Colwill
No European football could be perfect for James and Alonso
Chelsea are going to find weeks where they have three games far rarer this season due to them not qualifying for any form of European competition next season.
The Blues only need to look at how successful Manchester United were in the second half of last season, while their rivals saw fatigue take over.
Chelsea are in desperate need of stability across the club, and need to hand the Spaniard time to get his ideas across to the first team squad.
Ultimately though, they need stability from their captain, and him feeling confident he can be a regular starter next season is only a boost for the Blues.
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