Xabi Alonso was asked about where Reece James will play most of his minutes this season, and he stressed the full back’s flexibility.
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Xabi Alonso has just taken his press conference previewing Monday’s game against Monday. One subject he was asked about was captain Reece James, who has played a number of roles in preseason.
The new manager was asked where we might see James play on the pitch, but used it more as a chance to praise the defender in general.
James ready to play in any position says Alonso
“He’s flexible in his game, but he needs to feel important,” Alonso said.
“I think that’s the main thing. Not just because of the role he has as a captain, but also because of the quality he gives to the next thing. Wherever he plays, as a right-back or as a midfielder, normally he makes the next thing better because of his quality, because of his game intelligence, his experience, his composure with the ball.
“It’s good that we have players that can play in different positions. Not just him, other players as well. I see him in a good mood, in a good mindset. For sure the club means so much to him and we want to have a good start, a fresh start with good momentum. That’s why the start is so important on Monday.”
We suspect we will see a fairly even split of James at full back, centre back and central midfield this season, with Alonso likely to change formation pretty often.
In other news…
Alonso also spoke about his team selection for Monday, not giving anyone much confidence that the players who made it deep into the World Cup will get the chance to start.
Talk of a Man City bid for Enzo Fernandez just won’t go away, even though Chelsea set a deadline which has now been passed.
