Of course the headline of deadline day, outside of Enzo Fernandez leaving for Manchester City, was the late drama around the failed signing of midfielder Lamine Camara. There’s no doubt about it, this has left us at least one short in midfield, and it’s something which needs to be addressed in the next window AND one after in my view, with two more midfielders needed by the end of next summer.
However, the failure to get a midfielder now leaves us with Moises Caicedo and Chelsea captain Reece James as likely our first choice midfield pivot, until January at least.
Chelsea manager Xabi Alonso has played Reece in midfield in every game he’s started, even bringing him on in midfield from the bench against Brighton. Xabi was asked this week if Reece James can be one of the best midfielders in the world, and this was his response:
“I would say so. I would say he’s very comfortable, very confident playing in that position (midfield). He has the intelligence to play there. He has the intelligence to connect with his teammates around in the middle to know what’s the best thing before and after you get the ball. And he has this awareness.
I remember seeing him play very well in the middle. He will have a lot of minutes there as a first midfielder. His impact in terms of emotionality, in terms of captain, leadership in the middle, he’s closer to everything and can play an important role.
As a midfielder you need to take a lot of little decisions, many right decisions…..he is already knowing where he has to be.”
- Xabi Alonso
From these comments, Xabi’s team selections so far, and club briefings, its very clear that Xabi Alonso sees Reece James primarily as a midfielder.
I’ve said for a while Reece can’t be classed as a full right back anymore. His injury issues mean he can’t play that bombing RB role now. That said, to me Reece James is a world class footballer, I’ve always felt he could be elite in a number of positions, including midfielder. His physicality, defensive capabilities, ability on the ball, long range passing, football intelligence and vision make him an ideal candidate to play in a pivot, especially in the 3 at the back formation that Xabi Alonso is using.
Also when you look at the data for last season where played predominantly in midfield, he’s actually very strong in midfield. The comparison in data to Enzo Fernandez last season is telling.
As you can see here, Reece James outdid Enzo in scoring contributions, turnovers, tackles and interceptions. They’re almost identical in both passing, successful dribbles and through-balls, some of these key metrics for midfielders. Enzo leads in key passes, progressive carry distance, progressive passes and fouls, but you’d expect that as he played a more attacking role than Reece has in midfield.
The data is clear that Reece is far better in several key defensive metrics, and in turning over the ball over, all of which are key for how Xabi Alonso plays.
Indeed, I’ve checked his comparison to some other select midfielders from last season. I won’t post all those graphs, but it is notable that Reece James is about equal to Moises Caicedo in interceptions, and ahead of him in scoring contributions, through balls and key passes.
Indeed he’s actually ahead of Rodri last season in interceptions, through-balls, turnovers and scoring contributions. Now I’m NOT saying he’s as good as Rodri or Moises Caicedo, that’s not what I mean whatsoever.
My point is, far from being a stand in or temporary midfielder, or “someone who can play there”, he’s actually a very good midfielder, and in comparison to Enzo Fernandez, certainly in relation to a deeper pivot role, he’s just as good if not better.
The results and team performances when he’s played in midfield back this up too, especially when he plays in a pivot with Moises Caicedo. 6 of our biggest results and best performances of the last 14 months saw us play with a pivot of Moises Caicedo and Reece James:
Chelsea 3-0 PSG (CWC final)
Chelsea 3-0 Barcelona
Chelsea 2-1 Liverpool
Villa 1-4 Chelsea
Chelsea 1-1 Arsenal
City 1-1 Chelsea
We played really well in all these games, some of our best performances in years - and with a bit of luck could have won all of them. Here’s Reece’s overall record in midfield, not including the Arsenal game this weekend.
24/25:
PL: (2 games, 2 defeats)
CWC: 2 (1 win, 1 defeat)
Conf League: 6 (5 wins 1 defeat)
25/26:
CL: 5 games (2 wins, 3 defeats)
PL: 8 games (3 wins, 4 draws, 1 defeat)
FAC: 1 game (1 defeat)
26/27:
PL: 1 game (1 win)
League Cup: 1 game (1 win)
Total: 26 games, 13 wins, 5 draws, 9 defeats
(50% win percentage / 34% loss percentage / 66% of games unbeaten)
Reece’s injury record when playing in midfield is also nigh on impeccable. He’s not had a serious injury playing in midfield, indeed the only time he got injured in the last 20 months is when Liam Rosenior asked him to bomb forward and overlap, rather than hold in midfield.
One benefit injury wise, both for Reece and Caicedo, is Chelsea have only 3 midweek PL games between now and the end of January 2027. In that period, we have 22 PL games in 21 weeks. This means both Reece and Caicedo will have 18 full weeks without a midweek game, if they don’t play in the league cup. There could be 5 potential league cup games - but I highly doubt Reece and Caicedo will play all of them.
If we say Reece and Caicedo play half those cup games (if we get that far), then roughly 15/16 of the next 21 weeks, they’ll have a full week between games to rest, recharge and train. In all, they’d play 23/24 games in 22 weeks. For comparison, last season in that period they’d have played 32 games in that period and at least 13 midweek games in 22, if not more - a HUGE difference. Plus of course the last four weeks of this are the January transfer window, so Chelsea could add another midfielder in that period, giving them more chance to rest either or both.
The bottom line for me, is that Reece James isn’t a “he can play there” midfielder, he’s a legitimate midfield option, and both the data and the results back it up. Hopefully Moises Caicedo will be fit soon, and if both can stay fit and play together regularly, I think our midfield will be very strong this season - and again, results and performances show they’re a great partnership.
This season we’ve only had Reece James start in one PL game and Caicedo hasn’t started at all, and this has impacted us defensively. The goals conceded v Fulham were in the main goalkeeping errors too. I suspect once Reece and Caicedo are both fully fit and playing together regularly, and as we learn Xabi’s tactical system the defence will tighten up. With one game a week so often too, it means they’ll not be overloaded or pushed too hard, and we then have the opportunity to add to our midfield options in January.
I think Reece James has it in him to be one of the best midfielders in the PL and we should give him the chance to become one. I mean, if Xabi Alonso, an elite manager and one of the best midfielders of his generation, thinks Reece James is a quality midfield option, who the hell are we to argue?
The Score