Reece James remains linked with a move to Real Madrid, but a deal now appears more likely than it did previously
According to recent reports, Chelsea is willing to allow club captain Reece James to depart if the “right price” is paid by a team in the transfer market.
It follows a challenging few seasons for the Cobham academy graduate, who has played considerably less football than he would have liked.
James rose through the ranks before impressing on loan with Wigan Athletic in the Championship and making his first-team debut the following season under Frank Lampard.
The kid quickly established himself as the first-choice right-back option, displaying plenty of defensive quality while still posing an attacking danger.
James found his shooting boots as a wing-back in a back three under Thomas Tuchel, allowing him to commit more to getting into scoring opportunities.
However, when he was quickly utilized as a centre-back to ease the workload necessary, some of the injury troubles began to surface. It’s a repeating theme for the 23-year-old, who was sidelined for much of the previous season due to fitness concerns.
This season brought new hope under new manager Mauricio Pochettino, and James was also named captain as a great show of faith. After only one game, though, another stint on the bench was in order as a hamstring issue reared its head, requiring at least a few weeks of rest.
Before the latest injury, James had missed up to 400 days of activity since the start of the 2019/20 season, which would be detrimental to anyone’s physical and mental health. With the most recent issue behind him, many will be hoping for a clean run for the rest of the season.
However, there may be a twist in the story later on when it comes to his destiny in the transfer market. According to Sport, Real Madrid are still looking for a replacement for Dani Carvajal at right-back, with an offer ready for next summer.
