Chelsea upcoming rising star Reece James has been told to consider making a big change to help his future for England, with strong competition from Liverpool star Trent Alexander-Arnold.
Meanwhile, Former Chelsea defender Frank Sinclair has urged Reece James to think about changing position. The 20-year-old has impressed during his breakthrough season in the Blues’ first team, having spent a successful season on loan in the Championship with Wigan last season.
He has made 20 appearances in all competitions for Chelsea so far this season, scoring twice – once in a Carabao Cup demolition of Grimsby and the other coming in a thrilling 4-4 draw with Ajax in the Champions League group stage.
However, James has become Frank Lampard’s first choice right-back, with captain Cesar Azpilicueta shifting over to left-back, but Sinclair believes the young defender may have to change positions to be in with a chance of getting into Gareth Southgate’s Euro 2020 team.
“If I was Reece James, I might be clever and try and to start playing centre half or something because Trent Alexander is going to be a hard man to lodge out of that position the way that he’s playing at the moment,” the former Blues defender told GentingBet.
“But, it’s internationals and you need world class players in every position if you want to really seriously challenge at that level. “So, to have someone like Reece James, who will fight for that second slot as the natural right back, that’s a good thing. You’ve obviously also got [Aaron] Wan-Bissaka at Man United, but I don’t think he’s particularly been in great form this season. “The one thing about Reece James that will get him into England squads regularly is his adaptability, he can play centre half, he can play right back, he can play central midfield.
“When I spoke to Jody Morris after a FA Youth Cup victory for Chelsea a couple of seasons ago, he touched on how good Reece James was. He was saying Callum Hudson-Odoi gets a lot of the plaudits, but Reece James is just unbelievable. “So now he’s coming to fruition and I can see him kicking on and being in Chelsea’s team for the next 10 years or so and being a real mainstay.”