Reece James describes Graham Potter’s verdict as “interesting” and lists major Chelsea targets
After their first few days of collaboration, Reece James thinks Chelsea’s future under Graham Potter will be fascinating. Just days after it was revealed that James had signed a new six-year contract at Stamford Bridge, Thomas Tuchel was sacked as manager by the former Brighton manager, but the wing-goals back’s remain as high.
James enjoyed success under Tuchel in the Champions League, UEFA Super Cup, and Club World Cup and has thus far played for Chelsea, reaching the FA Cup and League Cup finals. The 22-year-old has become as a key player for the Blues in recent seasons and wants to see west London’s domestic success turn around.
James couldn’t help but mention Potter’s desire to win against Chelsea after spending only a few days with his new squad. Potter has made a good impact on them.
On the Chelsea website, James stated: “In football, events take place extremely quickly. I’ve had a lot of experience playing against Graham Potter’s teams, and so far, he seems like a decent man. He has a competitive spirit, so I predict a thrilling future.”
The former Wigan loanee also mentioned his objectives for his fresh contract. Added him: “Although we’ve had some successful recent years, we’ve also reached finals where we’ve lost. Every competition we enter, we aim to win, and if we make it to the final, there’s no reason we shouldn’t continue on.
There have been certain instances where we have succeeded, but there have also been instances where we have not won any domestic trophies, which needs to change.
James has had a quick ascent in his career thus far, with Tuchel’s coaching playing a significant role in his performance at wing-back with Ben Chilwell. Despite Chelsea’s poor start, the defender added a goal and an assist in five games this season. The defender scored five goals and had nine assists in 26 Premier League appearances in 2021–2022.
James will have plenty of opportunities to carry on in the same manner given his position in Potter’s first game against Salzburg.
James continued: “I am aware of my skills and how well I can hit a ball. I always attempt to score whenever I have the chance to do so in order to maximize my chances of doing so or of providing an assist. Before, full-backs were only full-backs, but today teams are attempting to utilize them as a supplemental player. There is room for us, and occasionally that’s to your advantage.
“It’s great to attack from high on the field, but there are times when the game is more challenging and you are unable to do so because you are defending more. Every game in football has the potential for a counterattack, therefore you must always be alert and avoid dozing off.”
While James aspires to maintain his effective offensive and defensive strategies, his primary goal for the current campaign is to just make sure he is available to play. When the Blues faltered in the midst of the season, the rising star’s hamstring injury during a match against Brighton caused him to miss 19 games.
James is optimistic that his accomplishments in 2022–2023 will be greater than those of his previous tenure.
He stated: “The most important thing for me this season is to stay healthy and avoid getting hurt. I believe I performed well last season; my statistics, goals and assists, and clean sheets were all the best they had ever been. However, I was injured for a prolonged period of time—perhaps three or four months—which was too lengthy. So, I believe that if I continue on the field, I will outperform what I accomplished last year.
“It’s difficult when you suffer an injury, of course. When you realize how long you’ll be gone, I believe the first day or two are the worst. Then you begin to look back and see the positive side.
“You try to establish goals, but last season I did that and I returned too soon and got hurt once more. These issues are really annoying. You don’t want to work your way back and then miss another three weeks of work.”