Manchester City and England star Kyle Walker has just delivered a glowing verdict when talking about one impressive Chelsea player.
Despite a sixth-placed finish in the Premier League this season, Chelsea’s squad is filled with some top-quality young players.
Enzo Maresca, who’s widely tipped in the media to be in line to become the new Blues head coach, will be inheriting a group brimmed with talent.
Kyle Walker amazed by Chelsea man
Man City’s Kyle Walker, who’s been one of the world’s best right-backs for such a long time now, has paid tribute to his Chelsea counterpart.
The £50m ace (Sky Sports) described Blues full-back Reece James as a “complete” player.
When asked who’s the best right-back in the world excluding himself, Walker said on his new BBC podcast: “Reece James. He’s just got everything. Everything. If I could make a complete right-back, it would be him. Defend, attack, technically, both-footed, dead-ball situations, quick.’’
Unfortunately, James and Walker won’t be meeting up at this summer’s Euro 2024 tournament.
While Walker will surely play a key role for Gareth Southgate’s England, James completely missed out on the Three Lions squad following another injury-hit season with his club. In fact, the Chelsea defender played just 11 games across all competitions.
Reece James could be amazing under Enzo Maresca
If James can sort his injury issues, The Chelsea Chronicle firmly believes everyone would be talking about one of the elite players in the Premier League.
The 24-year-old right-back, who’s also the Chelsea club captain, can both attack and defend to a very high standard.
If you look at Maresca’s success at Leicester City this season, inverted full-backs was a big part of that.
Leicester right-back Ricardo Pereira was a key figure all year dropping infield from right-back to midfield when in possession. Surely, James is tailor-made to play a similar position to an even higher standard, especially given he did play in midfield at times earlier in his career.
Let’s hope injuries don’t continue to rob James of his potential because there may be a perfect match with the incoming Chelsea boss.