‘Get out’: Chelsea player’s dad admits he wanted son to leave Stamford Bridge in 2019, almost joined Palace

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Nigel James – the father of Reece James – has now revealed that he wanted his son to leave Chelsea on a permanent basis in 2019.

The Chelsea No.24’s dad made the revelation when speaking on The Beautiful Game Podcast.

So, what did Nigel James say about Reece James leaving Chelsea? Let’s take a look…

What’s the story?

Well, the England international’s father has now admitted that he wanted his son to depart Stamford Bridge after a successful loan spell at Wigan in the 2018/19 campaign, as Crystal Palace led the race for his signature.

Nigel James said: “Brighton, Palace, a little bit of Newcastle. Palace was leading the way. I honestly looked at it and thought, let’s get out. I looked at it and thought, let’s leave Chelsea now. Yeah (it would have been a permanent exit, not loan).”

That would have been a remarkable turn of events based on where James stands at Chelsea nowadays.

The 23-year-old had just made the Championship Team of the Season in 2019 after scoring three goals and providing three assists in 35 appearances for Wigan during his loan spell.

However, Nigel clearly felt that his son would have been better off leaving Chelsea for regular first-team football.

Fortunately, an exit never materialised, and James has now developed into one of the best right-backs in Europe, let alone the Premier League.

Reece James sounds ready to have a huge season for Chelsea

Nigel was also asked about his son’s fitness on The Beautiful Game Podcast.

By the sounds of it, James is ready to have a big season under Mauricio Pochettino.

The right-back’s father admitted that his son is currently “all good” in regards to his fitness, and revealed that he spent some time training abroad this summer.

He said: “What I get from him is, all good Dad. He’s done some training abroad, he’s back and just getting himself ready for the season.”

Hopefully – after missing 22 Premier League games through injury last season – James is now in the best possible shape as Chelsea aim to bounce back next season.