Chelsea’s Reece James excelled on his first Premier League start over the weekend.
Trevor Sinclair has shared how Peter Reid told him that Chelsea youngster Reece James was ‘too good’ for the Championship even at the age of 18.
Right-back James, now 19, was on a season-long loan at Wigan last season, with ex-England man Reid part of the backroom staff and labelling his talents as ‘a joke’.
In the summer, James returned to Stamford Bridge, and on Saturday, he earned his first Premier League start under Frank Lampard as they beat Crystal Palace 2-0 at Stamford Bridge.
Speaking to Alan Brazil’s Sports Breakfast Show on TalkSport (11/11/19 at 8:55 am), former City winger Sinclair shared that he spoke with Reid after watching James in action over the weekend.
“He [James] dominated him [Zaha],” Sinclair told TalkSport. “When I was coming back from the game at Stamford Bridge, I phoned Peter Reid because I mentioned the boy with Reidy being at Wigan and he played at Wigan last season.
“And he said, ‘Trev, he was almost too good for the Championship at 18 and he played centre-midfield’. He said ‘it was a joke how good he was’. And he’s not surprised at all that he was doing so well.”
James is playing at fullback, at this moment in time, but given his qualities, he could play at centre-back or in the middle of the park.
It wouldn’t be a surprise if Frank Lampard does play him in various positions, as it could also be argued that he is the most talented out of all the Chelsea youngsters.
Given he was making his first Premier League start on Saturday, he did remarkably well in keeping Palace winger Wilfried Zaha at bay.
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