The Independent’s chief football writer Miguel Delaney has delivered a verdict on how highly Ben Chilwell and Reece James are rated behind the scenes at Chelsea.
Speaking on the Kelly & Wright Show, Delaney revealed the extent of the full-back’s status amongst the Stamford Bridge community.
Just how good were Chilwell and James?
Not long after the season started, it seemed like the English duo were going to fire Chelsea up to the top of the mountain and knock Manchester City from their Premier League perch.
Between the 10th of October and the 20th of November, the pair provided 12 league goals in total.
Both scored three times in this period, with James just topping the assist chart with two to Chilwell’s one.
At one stage, they were actually challenging one another for the club’s Golden Boot award.
However, all this optimism came crashing firmly to the ground during a Champions League game against Juventus.
Although Chelsea smashed the Italian’s 4-0, the result was clouded by Chilwell’s anterior cruciate ligament injury.
From that point on, Thomas Tuchel’s title charge crumbled away, as City cruised back to their division’s highest point.
Matters were then made worse for the Blues when James hobbled off early at home to Brighton & Hove Albion at the end of December.
The verdict: hamstring damage.
Tuchel’s two favourites
Tuchel has been without his two flying wing-backs for well over a month, which some claim is the catalyst behind their failed siege on Pep Guardiola’s castle.
“If you talk to people at Chelsea now, they put the injuries to James and Chilwell down as one of the main reasons they’ve fallen out of the title race,” said Delaney.
Whilst Chelsea’s downfall can be pinpointed on the defender’s absence, other major factors have to be considered.
Romelu Lukaku hasn’t looked like the same striker since his extended period on the sidelines.
The Belgian and most of his fellow attackers have failed to consistently find the back of the net, something James and Chilwell were managing pretty frequently.
They certainly showed their more offence minded teammates how it was done in the final third.
“Tuchel privately will describe Chilwell and James as: ‘they are not full-backs, they are my tens’,” continued Delaney, highlighting the importance of the players to their boss.
Chelsea fans probably won’t see Chilwell and James in action together until next term, although the latter is edging towards a return pretty soon.
For now, supporters can only look back at what could’ve been.
Keep up to date with all the latest Chelsea news and opinion by following The Chelsea Chronicle’s Facebook and Twitter accounts
Receive a digest of our best Chelsea content each week direct to your mailbox
