Chelsea are set to bring in defender Marco Palestra as their first summer signing, which looks set to produce a change of position for club captain Reece James.
Xabi Alonso has pushed hard for Chelsea to sign Palestra, with them hijacking the signing from under the noses of Inter Milan this summer.
Despite having the ability to play at both full-back roles, he has shown a preference for the right-back position, where Reece James and Malo Gusto are the current options.
Has Reece James done enough to keep his England place for Panama?🤔
Xabi Alonso looking at playing Reece James in midfield for Chelsea
While Gusto has been linked with a move to Manchester City, it is clear that James will be going nowhere after signing a new contract last season.
The England international and Palestra cannot feature at right-back at the same time, although Simon Phillips has reported that the position for James could now change.
He stated on his Substack that Alonso has been discussing the prospect of using James as a midfielder, especially if Enzo Fernandez departs this summer.
He said: “SPTC Sources heard that there has been internal conversations amongst Chelsea’s decision makers and Alonso, and James was even mentioned as a player who could replace Enzo Fernandez in midfield. With Palestra coming in, it is likely that he will be the starting right back.
“This would mean that James would either be a starting centre midfielder for Chelsea, or a starting right centre back if Alonso uses a back three. It’s still unknown at this point what formation Alonso will go for, but Palestra is certainly most suited to the wing back role.”
Fernandez remains strongly linked with a move to Real Madrid, although it is believed the Spanish giants will have to sell before forking out the fee required to prise him out of Chelsea.
Reece James proving his fitness to Xabi Alonso
Unfortunately, people cannot talk about James’ quality without mentioning the worry of his fitness following the last few injury-ridden seasons.
RATE 1️⃣-🔟: Is Marco Palestra a good signing?
Serie A's Best Defender of 2025-26.
However, James has now played 90 minutes twice within a week for England, as well as featuring for the Three Lions in both warm-up games before the tournament got underway.
Even Thomas Tuchel, who was insistent that James should play at right-back, has started to use the Chelsea captain in midfield during the World Cup.
James would often feature in midfield under Enzo Maresca, and started there for the Club World Cup final, as well as the recent FA Cup final defeat to Man City.
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