Why Thomas Tuchel's disagreement with Enzo Maresca over Reece James will leave Chelsea sweating | OneFootball

Reece James was handed a call up to the England squad for their upcoming World Cup qualifiers against Albania and Latvia.

The 25-year-old earned his first call up since March 2023 after battling through a series of injuries in recent years, including this season, however newly-appointed head coach Thomas Tuchel was convinced to reunite with the Chelsea captain, who he worked with during his time at Stamford Bridge.

Amid fitness problems and management, Chelsea head coach Enzo Maresca has begun to favour James in a midfield role rather than at full-back, which suggests the club are looking to maximise his minutes and reduce the risk of further injuries.

"I see Reece as a midfielder, not just now but since day one," Maresca said earlier this month. "Before I met him for the first time, when he was on holiday, I sent him a clip of how he could play as a midfielder.

"So I imagined him playing as a midfielder a long time ago. He is playing [there] now, but the good thing is this season he has played as a full-back, a central defender, many positions, but the main target for us is to help him stay fit all season."

After being called up by England, along with teammates Levi Colwill and Cole Palmer, Tuchel confirmed discussions had taken place with James and Chelsea to ensure he was fully fit and ready to return to the England set-up.

James and Tuchel celebrating Chelsea winning the Champions League together in May 2021. / IMAGO / PRiME Media Images

“Reecey works very hard to be in shape," Tuchel told a news conference following his first England squad selection. "The point about him is that he does not play so regularly lately, but it is due to the managing of his previous injury history. He is fully available. We double-checked, triple-checked also with him personally and the club and medical department.

“There is no doubt about Reece’s quality and capability, what he can bring to us. As you all know, we want to be flexible and have a wider range. That’s why it was a pleasure to bring Reece back in.”

Thomas Tuchel disagrees with Enzo Maresca over Reece James

With Maresca seeing James' future position in midfield, Tuchel disagreed with the Chelsea head coach and confirmed James will not be playing in midfield for England.

"I still feel he is a player for the full-back and wing-back positions," admitted Tuchel, as quoted by Standard Sport. "I think we have enough players in central midfield who are more specialists there…

James' full focus will be on keeping fit to cement his place as a regular for both Chelsea and England. / IMAGO / Pro Sports Images

On whether James can get up and down the flanks as a full-back, Tuchel added: "We need to see if he can do this. He needs to prove the point, to be honest, he needs to prove that he can do it.

"I’m aware he was exposed to less high-intensity work because he played a different role, he started playing in a back three, so with the ball they were building a back three with him which he did also for me at Chelsea.

"In Copenhagen he played in midfield so you are not exposed to high-intensity runs but the history and the numbers recently tell is it is possible so it’s on him to prove the point."

Tuchel's decision to test James back at full-back, a position which has caused him plenty of fitness issues, Maresca and Chelsea will be nervously hoping there are no setbacks on international duty as they eye to have their club captain available for the final nine games of the Premier League season once the international break concludes.