Enzo Maresca has shown himself not to be backward in coming forward to criticise his Chelsea players if they’re not performing as he likes, with ex-Man United and England legend Paul Scholes agreeing with the Blues manager.

Scholes has started to carve out a career for himself as a pundit, and like Maresca, he doesn’t mince his words when he wants to make a point.

Perhaps the ‘tough love’ approach at Stamford Bridge is the way to go after the failed regimes of Thomas Tuchel, Graham Potter, Frank Lampard (caretaker) and Mauricio Pochettino.

Enzo Maresca finds support from Paul Scholes on key issue

Digging out your captain in public arguably isn’t the best course of action, however.

The Italian will argue that his hard line approach is working, the midweek Carabao Cup defeat to Newcastle notwithstanding.

After nine games of the current Premier League season, the West Londoners find themselves in fifth place and just six points off Man City at the summit.

For the most part, Chelsea have been playing some attractive football, though the defeat at St. James’ Park will have knocked confidence.

This weekend sees them head to Old Trafford to take on a Man United side in transition, but one under Ruud van Nistelrooy who hit five against Leicester in their own Carabao Cup tie.

The Dutchman’s former Red Devils team-mate certainly didn’t hold back on The Overlap when discussing Chelsea, and in particular, the captaincy of the club.

“The captain’s role is quite important,” he said.

“We had some unbelievable captains at Manchester United. Bryan Robson is someone you look up to with the stature, the presence, he looks after his players. Roy Keane – these types of players. I think it’s important.

“You look at Arsenal, you look at the great captains – Tony Adams, Chelsea – John Terry, Liverpool – Steven Gerrard. All the big characters in the team, it’s important for these young players to look up to that. I think it’s big.

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“I remember when Reece James got appointed, I thought, he doesn’t look like a captain to me.

“He seems very quiet and shy. You can be captain like that but he’s just not the character that you’d expect for a club the size as Chelsea football club.

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Jamie Carragher has blasted Reece James for his role in Newcastle’s goal against Chelsea on Sunday. 

James went into the match bruised from criticisms by Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca regarding his ‘leadership’.

However, the 24-year-old defender was still entrusted with the captain’s armband as he lined up at left-back against the Magpies.

All was going well for James until the 32nd minute, when he allowed Alexander Isak to get between him and Levi Colwill, finding the space to fire home Lewis Hall’s cross to make it 1-1 at half-time.

Alexander Isak equalises for Newcastle at Stamford Bridge! ?? pic.twitter.com/1FhSPJVV0z

— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) October 27, 2024

James didn’t appear to even shout Colwill, despite having a perfect view of the situation unfolding and plenty of time to make a decision.

It’s safe to say Carragher was not impressed.

“Reece James hasn’t done his job. He loses Isak… either run back or scream at your defender to pick him up. He just let him go,” the former Liverpool defender told Sky Sports.

“I go back to what the manager said before the game – he wants more leadership.”

Reece James makes amends

James will have been relieved to see Cole Palmer restore Chelsea’s lead just two minutes after half-time.

However, the England international seemed intent on making sure he made amends for his loss of concentration.

And James’ moment came in the 70th minute when he was well-placed to make a goalline clearance to deny Isak a second equaliser of the day when it looked certain he’d find the net.

The defender also made a stunning diving header to cut out a Newcastle cross in the final minutes of second-half stoppage time.

James ended up playing the full 90 minutes, running five recoveries, two blocks, two clearances and two interceptions, while winning all three of his aerial duels.

Sunday’s win leaves Chelsea fourth in the Premier League after an excellent start to life under Maresca.

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Chelsea captain Reece James has recently received something of a dressing down from manager Enzo Maresca, and journalist Melissa Reddy has admitted to being quite taken aback by his outspoken style.

The Blues have made a decent start under Maresca since he took over from Mauricio Pochettino in the summer, but at times he’s perhaps raised eyebrows by his forthright style of communication.

Speaking in the video clip below, Reddy admits she finds the current situation between Maresca and James a bit uncomfortable, whilst also admitting that the Italian tactician’s slightly unorthodox man-management style being a bit difficult to get used to, even if she also feels it’s refreshing to hear more honesty about situations that would normally be kept private…

"It feels uncomfortable" ??

Melissa Reddy on Enzo Maresca's criticism of Reece James' leadership abilities ? pic.twitter.com/WvzRorYVPP

— Sky Sports News (@SkySportsNews) October 27, 2024

Chelsea fans will no doubt have mixed opinions on this, as James is a top player on his day, but it could be that he’d benefit from this wake-up call from his manager.

On the flip side, however, the England international might have responded better to this if it had been kept behind closed doors, though we’ll never know for sure if this perhaps started out as a private matter before Maresca felt he needed to go public to get more of a reaction from the player.

Is Reece James the right fit for Chelsea captain?

“I spoke with him and I expect from him more in terms of leadership inside the changing room,” Maresca said, as quoted by the Daily Mirror.

It will be interesting to see how this develops, and if it perhaps leads to James losing the armband at some point, with plenty of other players perhaps more suited to that role of being the club captain.

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This is a bit of a personal blow for James, though, who has had so many injury problems in recent times that may well have contributed to him being a bit below par in terms of Maresca’s expectations of him.

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Enzo Maresca has not held back in his assessment of Reece James following the defender’s recent return from injury.

The 24-year-old made his long-awaited return against Liverpool last weekend after being ruled out for the majority of last season.

Thrown straight into the deep end and asked to start against Arne Slot’s Reds six days ago, James was clearly off the pace and appeared a shadow of the player once tipped to become England’s first-choice right-back.

Enzo Maresca slams Reece James for ‘lack of leadership’

And speaking ahead of Sunday’s exciting matchup against Newcastle United, Maresca didn’t mince his words when discussing James’ first performance back.

“I expected from him more in terms of leadership, inside the changing room,” the Italian told reporters.

“He’s on the way, he’s doing well, he’s progressing but from Reece I expected more also in terms of leadership.

“For me, because you are the captain, you have to give more than the rest. Sometimes, ‘OK, I am the captain, I can give less’. No. He’s one of the captains and I expected from him, and his team-mates expected from him, to give always more in terms of leadership.”

Step up or risk losing captain’s armband

Going on to compare James’ mental attributes to the rest of the Chelsea squad, Maresca feels the Blues lack a ‘proper leader’ — potentially bad news for James, who was named club captain by Mauricio Pochettino before the start of last season.

“He understands we expected more from him,” the manager added.

“He’s one of our guys from the academy but this is one of the reasons why he has to show more in terms of personality.

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“When you don’t have a proper leader, you need to build that. I think we don’t have a proper leader. Probably Tosin [Adarabioyo] is one of the guys that is. The rest, we need to build them.

“Reece is there, he’s on the way but he’s not there. He needs to make an effort in that one. Levi [Colwill] probably at the beginning of the season was not a leader but now you can see that he is one of the guys that is always speaking. We need to build that.”

Maresca’s recent comments are unlikely to go down well with the Chelsea defender and will fuel speculation over his future at the club.

Barcelona and Benfica have already been linked with surprise approaches with the former particuarly light in James’ position with Jules Kounde the side’s only senior recognised right-back.

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Chelsea manager, Enzo Maresca, clearly isn’t bothered about winning any friends in West London, and this time he’s directed his ire at captain, Reece James.

The Italian has been brutally honest when dealing with players so far, and dependant on one’s point of view, that’s either a breath of fresh air or completely the wrong way to go about things.

He also doesn’t appear to be interested in anyone else’s opinion as to how to do his job, and is clearly more than happy to back players when others might consider them to be underperforming or perhaps surplus to requirements.

Enzo Maresca challenges Reece James to give more

Maresca knows his own mind, is confident enough to speak it when required, and perhaps that’s the type of strong mentality that the Blues had lacked under the likes of Graham Potter and Mauricio Pochettino et al.

The player that has felt the sharp end of his tongue on this occasion is James, and the manager’s words have hinted that a change could soon be coming in terms of who wears the armband at Stamford Bridge.

Brutal honesty from Enzo Maresca on Reece James ?#ITVFootball | #CFC pic.twitter.com/W04c4zFB3f

— ITV Football (@itvfootball) October 25, 2024

“I spoke with him. He’s doing well and progressing, but most of the time a player thinks that because I’m captain I expect that you give me more,” he said in his pre-match press conference for the weekend’s game against Newcastle.

“No. For me, because you are the captain, you have to give more. You have to give more than the rest. I expect it from Reece and his team-mates expect if from him to always give more in terms of leadership.

“Levi Colwill and Marc Cucurella are some of the leaders, also Tosin. Levi is fantastic and you can see that he is one of the guys that is always speaking. We need to build on that.”

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Maresca has effectively thrown down the gauntlet to the right-back in what can only be perceived as another stunning rant.

The back-handed threat of losing the captaincy could well see James step up and grow more into the role as his manager would prefer.

Or, he could retreat more into his shell and find that he’s cast aside just in the way that Ben Chilwell and others have been.

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Chelsea have confirmed that Reece James will miss their next match against Panathinaikos in the UEFA Europa Conference League on Thursday along with several other Blues stars. 

Enzo Maresca’s side travel to Athens to face the Greek side in their second Europa Conference League game and will be looking to follow up their 4-2 win over Gent with another three points.

It goes without saying that the Premier League club are much stronger than the rest of the teams in the competition and European nights give Maresca the chance to rest several of his top players, while also handing fringe stars valuable game time.

For the Panathinaikos clash on Thursday, Fabrizio Romano has stated that Chelsea have confirmed that Levi Colwill, Reece James, Malo Gusto, Moises Caicedo and Nicolas Jackson have not travelled to Athens as the Blues’ head coach has an eye on their clash with Newcastle this weekend.

This was always part of the plan and Chelsea fans should have no fear over James’ exclusion with the right-back having just returned from another long-term injury.

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Chelsea need to play it safe with Reece James

James returned to the Chelsea starting 11 on Sunday as the defender lined up in the Blues’ 2-1 defeat to Liverpool at Anfield having overcome a hamstring injury.

One game a week should be the most the Englishman plays for some time as Chelsea try to figure out a way to keep the injury-prone star fit for the majority of a season – an idea Maresca has admitted to being open to.

The right-back is a very talented star but his career has been hampered by fitness issues.

Everyone at Stamford Bridge loves the Chelsea academy graduate and wants to see him remain fit and reach his potential as one of the best full-backs in the sport.

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Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca has admitted he had fears over the fitness of both Reece James and Romeo Lavia as they both started in the Liverpool game on Sunday after both missing a lot of football due to injuries in the last year or so.

James was making his first appearance of the season for the Blues, while he managed only eleven in total for the entire previous campaign, so it was a bit of a surprise to see him go straight back into Maresca’s first XI for such a big game.

Lavia, meanwhile, made just his fourth appearance for Chelsea since joining the club almost a year and a half ago, as the young Belgian midfielder has also had major fitness problems during his time at Stamford Bridge.

It’s therefore not too surprising that Enzo Maresca’s press conference made reference to this issue, with the Italian tactician admitting he was anxious about using these players again, and always planned to give them a maximum of 45-60 minutes before subbing them off.

“For James and Romeo, it was 45 minutes to one hour maximum,” Maresca said after the game, as quoted by the Metro.

“I was a bit afraid to give them more minutes on the pitch. decided to change them after 50, 55 minutes.”

Enzo Maresca boosted by returning Chelsea stars

Overall, even if James and Lavia couldn’t yet play the full 90 minutes, it’s very encouraging news for Maresca that he has them back, and that they came through the minutes they were on the pitch without any issues.

Chelsea have gone through so many changes under their new ownership, with managers coming and going and a host of new signings coming in, while some big names have left.

Still, there’s no doubt Chelsea would surely have found life a lot easier if a quality player like James had been available all this time, with the England international one of the top full-backs in the game when he’s fully fit and confident.

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Lavia is also someone with huge potential, even if he’s not yet as proven as James, so there’s every chance that his return could give the west London side something a bit different in midfield, as both Enzo Fernandez and Moises Caicedo have had their ups and downs since joining the club.

Maresca has a pretty big squad, but the more options he has, the better he’ll surely be able to do in these testing weeks and months ahead.

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Chelsea coach Enzo Maresca has confirmed that his captain Reece James will be part of the Blues’ squad to face Liverpool this weekend and the Italian coach has also discussed how he can keep the right-back fit.

James is without a doubt one of the most talented full-backs in the Premier League and is loved by everyone at Chelsea. However, the 24-year-old’s career has been plagued by injuries and it has stopped him from reaching his potential.

The England star has yet to feature for the West London club this season which follows on from a miserable campaign last time around as the right-back played just 11 games.

Chelsea face the daunting task of travelling to Anfield to face an in-form Liverpool team on Sunday and ahead of that clash, Maresca has confirmed that James will be part of his squad.

Speaking to the media during his press conference on Friday, the Italian coach stated when asked if James would be available: “He’s available. Finally, he’s back. He worked with us all for all of the international break. It’s good news, especially for him, because being injured is not a good feeling.”

This will come as great news for fans of the Blues and what is even better is that Maresca may have a solution to keep his captain off of the injury list.

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Enzo Maresca has an idea to keep Chelsea captain Reece James fit

Now that James has returned, Chelsea have a responsibility to try and keep the defender fit and Maresca thinks playing the 24-year-old only once a week may be a solution.

“In this moment, it can be the solution: one game a week. In the future? I don’t know,” the Italian coach said via Fabrizio Romano. “If we want to build his physical solution, it’s to go slowly, slowly to use once a week.”

It is uncertain if this will work as James will want to play every game once he feels his body getting stronger. For now, it is a good idea as Chelsea fans just want to see their captain fit and playing for their club once again.

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Chelsea right-back Reece James reportedly has some interest from Real Madrid which could heat up again soon, according to Simon Phillips.

The Chelsea captain has struggled with fitness problems in recent times, meaning he’s barely featured for much of the last year or more, and it’s perhaps not too surprising to see that this means his long-term future at Stamford Bridge is in some doubt.

According to Phillips, there is concern behind the scenes at Chelsea about James’ ongoing fitness problems, with the 24-year-old’s absence also putting a lot of strain on youngster Malo Gusto, who is probably playing more games than many would have expected or wanted at this age.

James has been linked with Barcelona in a report from Football Transfers, and it seems Real Madrid could also be an option for the England international, according to Phillips’ report.

Reece James transfer: Should Chelsea cash in?

Chelsea fans will surely have split opinions on this situation, with James undoubtedly a world class performer when he’s fit and available, but his inability to stay fit is clearly something that needs to be factored in.

It will be interesting to see if James can return soon and get a run of games going, but one imagines it would be seriously tempting for the west London giants’ board to accept reasonable offers if they come in.

As noted by Football Transfers, there is the feeling that James might benefit from playing in a warmer climate and in a less physically demanding league in order to prolong his career and avoid more of these injury problems in the long run.

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Chelsea would also have the chance to make pure profit from the sale of a homegrown player, as they did with others like Mason Mount and Conor Gallagher, who have both left in the last two summers.

Fans won’t want to see more academy graduates moved on, but it’s hard to avoid in the modern game, with the rules being as they are, and the punishments potentially very severe.

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Chelsea right-back Reece James reportedly seems to be considering leaving London in order to play in a warmer climate with the likes of Barcelona or Benfica.

The 24-year-old has had an injury-plagued couple of years, meaning he’s barely been able to play for Chelsea and make the kind of impact we know he’s capable of, and it seems he’s now considering moving to a warmer climate to see if it can help with his fitness.

That’s according to a report from Football Transfers, who state that James’ representatives have sounded out Barcelona over a potential move, as well as another surprise club in the form of Benfica.

James is undoubtedly good enough for a big name like Barca as long as he’s fully fit, but Benfica is a surprise destination that most players of his calibre would probably see as a bit of a step down.

At the same time, however, James is perhaps now at the point where he just wants to ensure he’s able to keep playing regularly after making only 26 appearances in the Premier League in the last two years, with none so far this season.

Reece James transfer: Could Chelsea’s club captain move on?

It would no doubt be seen as a bit of a blow for Chelsea to lose their club captain, but it perhaps makes sense that all options are on the table at this point in the England international’s career.

James looked like a hugely exciting young talent when he first broke onto the scene for the Blues, and the club’s fans would surely love to see this academy graduate eventually coming good for their first-team.

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It might not be meant to be, however, and perhaps James can take better care of his career by moving to Spain or Portugal, where the weather would be better and the pace of the game also a bit slower, meaning he could perhaps put his injury woes behind him.

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