Chelsea captain Reece James made his first home start of the season against Newcastle United over the weekend.
Reece James missed the beginning of the campaign because of injury, but the defender is fit again.
He started in Chelsea‘s 2-1 loss to Liverpool before making another start against Newcastle the weekend after.
His manager will be glad to have him back, but Enzo Maresca wants to see more leadership from James.
Reece James vocal in Chelsea’s win against Newcastle
Those who follow Chelsea would have heard that James is not the most vocal player.
However, he was communicating during Chelsea’s match with Newcastle and showing that he can be a leader.
According to LondonWorld, James called Wesley Fofana into position from time to time. He also told his teammates they needed to remain focused towards the end of the game after he made an excellent headed clearance.
The win clearly meant a lot to him and Chelsea, with James falling to the ground at full-time in relief after a real battle against Eddie Howe’s men.
Reece James likely to make three consecutive starts in the Premier League
Chelsea play Newcastle again on Wednesday in the Carabao Cup. James is not expected to feature, with Maresca stating that his body can only cope with one game a week.
It means that the right-back is likely to start against Manchester United this Sunday, which is Chelsea’s next Premier League fixture.
It would see James make his third consecutive start in the top flight this season. That would be hugely encouraging for both the player and his club after all of his injury problems.
Before Erik ten Hag’s sacking, Chelsea supporters would have been feeling confident going into the game.
United were performing poorly under him, finding themselves 14th in the Premier League table. Chelsea are now going to have to watch out for a potential new manager bounce.
Still, with the quality that they have, Maresca‘s men should be returning to Stamford Bridge with something.
Receive a digest of our best Chelsea content each week direct to your mailbox
