Reece James growing into Chelsea leadership role as Enzo Maresca plays down ‘kids’ problem

Chelsea head coach Enzo Maresca called on “reserved guy” Reece James to show more personality in the dressing room in October and now the captain is back from injury he can see improvements

Enzo Maresca says Reece James is improving as a leader after admitting earlier in the season that he expected more from Chelsea ’s captain.

In October Maresca told “reserved guy” James to show more personality in the dressing room – only for the captain to be sidelined with a new hamstring injury a fortnight later. And while Chelsea are determined to not push him too hard for fear of a recurrence, Maresca says the full back’s return is timely for a team without a league win in more than a month.

James came off the bench to rescue a last-gasp draw against Bournemouth last Tuesday – his first time scoring since August 2022. And Maresca, whose team host Wolves tomorrow night, said of having his skipper back: “It’s important but in his mind he can be more important.

“In general Reece is one of the most important players for us because he is the captain. We know since we started with him that having him always fit, fit, fit is better. But we try to adapt. Now he’s back and we’re happy. And he’s improving in that [leadership] aspect.”

Yet Maresca does not feel his squad, by some distance the youngest in the league, has a wider issue with controlling games.

The Bournemouth draw was the latest example of Chelsea taking a first-half lead only to allow their opponents a route back in.

Fulham came from behind to win on Boxing Day, while Crystal Palace fought back to claim a point two weeks ago and Brentford were close to stealing a draw after going a goal down last month.

But Maresca reckons his side are no different to the rest of the Premier League with the exception of leaders Liverpool.

“They are not kids, they are 20 years old most of them,” he said. “They are not kids and they have to deal with it.

“If some moments like this happen, it’s not just for us. All the clubs in this moment have had a moment like us. The only one [that hasn’t] is Liverpool.

“It’s just about how you embrace the moment, try to react and try again to start winning games. It’s a new situation now for them that they are living. The next time it happens they can live it in a better way.”

He has also ruled out adding a striker this month. Nicolas Jackson has veered from the sublime to sloppy in front of goal.

But Maresca said: “Being a little bit more lucky, we can convert and score more goals. In this moment the one that is missing is Nico but the way he is working is fantastic and we have no doubt that soon Nico is going to start scoring goals.”

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