“I tried to learn…”- Reece James names Chelsea icon he looked up to – it’s not who you expect | OneFootball

Reece James is injury free and playing incredibly well right now, and in a chat with the Chelsea website he spoke about his happiness at passing 200 games for the Blues.

“It’s a dream for me to play 200 games for the club I’ve supported since I was a little boy, and hopefully I can continue to get many more,” James said. He also named an interesting influence on his career from his early days in the first team.

“I tried to learn as much as I could because there were so many more experienced players in the team. Obviously, Azpi being the captain at the time, I was playing in the same position, so I tried to learn lots from him while he was here.”

James can still match club icon with luck and careful handling

Reece James against Brentford. (Photo by Harry Murphy/Getty Images)

Sadly one of the few qualities that Azpi had that James doesn’t was his insane durability. The defender ended up with 508 appearances for the club, and James is not yet halfway that mark. However, given he’s still just 26, if luck is on his side with injuries he can still catch the Spaniard.

“When I was young it was just about one day at a time, not looking too far ahead, and if you give everything each day then, if the opportunity came, I would be ready to try to take it,” the right back concluded inspiringly.

In other news…

Enzo Maresca showered James with praise in his press conference today and noted that the full back was among the world’s best.

Cole Palmer is another player who we need in top form if we want to win a major trophy this year. We really hope this Saturday sees him go up a level as he gets back to full fitness.