‘I realised’: Pat Nevin says Tuchel used 22-year-old Chelsea player in three different positions during PL opener

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Pat Nevin spotted that Chelsea’s Reece James was already showing his incredible versatility during the Premier League opener away to Everton.

Jorginho’s converted penalty ensured the Blues kickstarted the league season with a 1-0 victory at Goodison Park, which sets them up nicely ahead of a showdown this Sunday at home to Tottenham.

With managers now allowed to make five substitutions in games, Thomas Tuchel is in a position where he can really utilise the depth of quality on his bench.

It was a typical opening game of the season feel at Everton where not everyone’s at their sharpest yet, so the game wasn’t the most fluent.

Reece James versatility

Nevin noticed that Chelsea’s James popped up in three different roles against Everton. The same applied to club captain Cesar Azpilicueta, too.

James started the contest in his usual right wing-back position, which is a role most supporters love to watch him play in every week.The 22-year-old also provided cover during the 90 minutes as a left wing-back and a centre-back in the back three, though.

“At one point I tried to work out how many defensive combinations we had during this one single game and gave up when I realised that Reece James alone had played three different positions, as had Cesar Azpilicueta,” Nevin wrote.

Keep at RWB please

It must be a dream for Tuchel to know someone like James is capable of popping up in any defensive or midfield position, but that should be left for emergencies only. .

The England international is at his very best when he’s occupying a wing-back slot high up the pitch on the right.

Incidentally, he’s even admitted he prefers to play wing-back over the centre-back position.

It does feel like you’re taking away a big part of his game when he’s deployed in the back three, so hopefully moving forward James can lock down the one role.

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