Reece James

Reece James (born 8 December 1999) is an English professional footballer who plays as a right-back for Premier League club Chelsea and the England national team.

James joined the Chelsea academy as a youth and turned professional in 2017, a season where he captained the under-18s to victory in the FA Youth Cup and was named Academy Player of the Season. A productive loan spell with Wigan Athletic of the Championship saw him promoted to the Chelsea first team upon his return in 2019, after which he began to establish himself as a regular fixture at right-back and earn a long-term contract extension in January 2020.

After representing England at various youth levels, James was called up to the full international side for the first time in October 2020, earning his first cap against Wales.

Early life

James was born in Redbridge, Greater London, and attended Isleworth and Syon School. He belongs to a footballing family, where his sister, Lauren is also a professional footballer. Lauren signed for Chelsea Women in July 2021. Their father Nigel is a football coach.

Club career

James began training with Chelsea at the age of six, but had a short spell at West London rivals Fulham when he was seven. He turned professional with Chelsea in March 2017. During the 2017–18 season he captained the under-18s to win the FA Youth Cup and was named Academy Player of the Season. He signed a new four-year contract with the club in June 2018. Later that month he joined Championship club Wigan Athletic on loan for the 2018–19 season. In March 2019, he was selected to the 2018–19 Championship Team of the Season. He won three awards at Wigan Athletic's end of season awards, including Player of the Year.

On 25 September 2019, James made his debut for Chelsea after returning from injury. He scored one goal and assisted two in a 7–1 win over Grimsby Town in the third round of the 2019–20 EFL Cup. James became Chelsea's youngest ever goalscorer in the UEFA Champions League when he scored the fourth goal of their 4–4 comeback draw with Ajax on 5 November 2019. He signed a long-term contract extension with Chelsea on 16 January 2020.

On 14 September 2020, James scored his first Premier League goal, in a 3–1 win for Chelsea against Brighton & Hove Albion. On 5 December, James made his 50th appearance for Chelsea in all competitions in the club's 3–1 league win over Leeds United.

In January 2021, James was subject to racist abuse online. In March 2021, he deleted his Instagram account in response to the abuse he received. On 29 May, James won his first-ever Champions League as Chelsea won 1–0 against Manchester City in the 2021 UEFA Champions League Final in Porto. On 28 August, James was controversially sent off at the end of the first half of a 1–1 draw against Liverpool due to a handball incident.

International career

Youth

James has represented England at youth level from under-18 up to under-21. In May 2017, James was included in the under-20 squad for the 2017 Toulon Tournament. He started in the final as England beat the Ivory Coast to retain their title. In July 2017, James was part of the under-19 squad that won the 2017 UEFA European Under-19 Championship. He started in the semi-final against the Czech Republic.

James was a member of the under-20 squad that travelled to the 2019 Toulon Tournament and was carried off on a stretcher with ankle ligament damage during the first half of the final group game defeat to Chile on 7 June 2019. On 4 October 2019, James was included in the under-21 squad for the first time. He made his under-21 debut during the 3–0 2021 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualification victory away to Albania on 15 November 2019.

Senior

On 5 October 2020, James was called up for the first time to the senior team by manager Gareth Southgate following an injury to Raheem Sterling. He made his debut on 8 October at Wembley Stadium, coming on as a 58th-minute substitute for Kieran Trippier in a 3–0 win over Wales. He was sent off for dissent after the final whistle in his second start, against Denmark. James was named in the 26-man England squad for Euro 2020.

In November 2021, he said that he was in the best form of his career, and that he hoped to become England's first-choice right-back.

Style of play

His manager Thomas Tuchel described him as "strong and influential" during an interview with Chelsea TV. He had a wing-back partnership with Ben Chilwell at both club and international level.