Reece James is going to play in midfield once again today, and we’re curious to see how he gets on in that role.
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Today Chelsea face Arsenal, but as well as the first game against a top team under Xabi Alonso, it’s also the first game after the transfer window closed.
The big news at Chelsea was that Enzo Fernandez left, but deals to sign his replacement all fell through. The Blues are now left with a smaller group of options, and the Evening Standard focused on one of them in their match preview.
James to return to heart of things against Arsenal
“Reece James began to play in midfield more under Maresca in the second half of his tenure, and very quickly it became clear this was a smart way to use a very smart player,” Dom Smith wrote.
And Chelsea believe that too:
“The added depth and quality of James in that position can be meaningful addition enough, they believe, and that could be critical to their chances of winning difficult games.”
James in midfield is a compromise at best – it’s a place his body can handle playing, rather than where he is at his best. But we’ve seen him have amazing games there, and he will step up in these next few months. Today is a big test to see how we’ll cope until January.
In other news…
Signing Morgan Rogers this summer was a huge coup which we heard Xabi Alonso speak about on Friday.
One tactical decision we’ve heard a lot about is Levi Colwill in the left channel of Chelsea’s defence, and Alonso discussed that too.
