Chelsea: Reece James injury not the end of the world for the Blues
Reece James may miss Chelsea’s next game, but the Blues have the world’s best right back replacement in Cesar Azpilicueta.
When news first broke that one of Chelsea’s starting defenders could potentially need surgery on their legs, Blues fans held their breath. Immediately, many assumed the worst, hoping and praying it wasn’t Ben Chilwell or Kurt Zouma. Why those two individuals though? Apart from them being spectacular for Chelsea this season—as the entire back line has been—the depth behind them is thinner than those below Thiago Silva and Reece James.
Fast forward a few hours and the player was confirmed to be James. The English fullback suffered a knock a few weeks back, but kept playing through the discomfort. However, it was a challenge by Daniel Podence in the Blues’ most recent outing that did the trick, reaggravating his injury. James went for a scan on Saturday and the timetable for his return is unclear at this time. He’s expected to miss the upcoming contest against West Ham though. While this seems inopportune—and is, to be fair—for Frank Lampard, Chelsea has the most capable back-up in the world. Cesar Azpilicueta will be the one the boss turns to should the young phenom miss time.
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The club captain is approaching 400 total appearances and 34,000 minutes for Chelsea throughout his career in England. Azpilicueta has been Mr. Reliable for the Blues in recent years, but it’s been James’ rapid rise to stardom that’s kept the Spaniard on the bench. The 31-year-old only missed four Premier League matches from the 2015/16 season until the end of the last campaign. However, he’s only appeared in five league matches so far this year. Nobody is questioning the club captain’s talents, he’s still a top class defender, even though his minutes have drastically decreased.
In all honesty, Chelsea will be just fine as the replacement is almost like-for-like. Azpilicueta and James are incredibly well rounded players; they’re solid as a rock in defense and have some of the sharpest attacking minds amongst fullbacks in the Premier League. James has racked up one goal and three assists across 15 matches to his Spanish colleague’s lone assist in 11.
Chelsea has allowed six goals when Azpilicueta has been on the pitch at fullback. Conversely, the Blues have given up 12 goals when James has deputized the defense from a wide position. It’s important to keep in mind that the Englishman has played in four more matches, with many of those appearances coming against the toughest the Premier League and Champions League have to offer. Regardless, that doesn’t take away from the fact the club captain’s defenses seldom concede.
The biggest difference between the two is on the offensive end as both are incredibly gifted defenders. James offers more attacking assistance to the Blues’ forwards. He’s got one of the best crossing techniques in the Premier League, consistently offering up a sumptuous ball into the box. Further, James carries more of a goal threat. Azpilicueta is known to score the occasional screamer or two, but he hardly gets into scoring positions. He makes up for that with his ability to pick out open men in the final third and deliver some tasty passes himself.
Other contrasts between the two include physicality, experience and positioning. James has a lot of the former, but sometimes lacks the latter two qualities as he’s still learning the ropes. Azpilicueta’s no stranger to experience and what he lacks in athleticism in his early 30s, he more than makes up for in knowledge and positioning. Both know how to play the position at the highest levels and if it wasn’t for the massive age difference, it’d be difficult to distinguish between the two this campaign.
Next. Chelsea will need last season’s squad more than ever this winter. dark
Here’s to hoping James is able to make a speedy and safe recovery—no matter the seriousness of the injury. He’s becoming one of the standout defenders in the English top flight and its a shame when that progression is halted, even for a short period of time. Until he gets back though, the Blues are in safe hands with Azpilicueta.