Cesar Azpilicueta gives his honest view on Reece James as Chelsea captain

The retired defender finished his career at Chelsea with 508 appearances. Following his exit, Reece James succeeded him as captain.

Like Azpilicueta, James has also been able to lead Chelsea to silverware. He captained the Blues to glory in the Club World Cup and Conference League in 2025. However, it has not always been plain sailing for James as skipper.

The right-back has had a lot of injuries and has had his leadership qualities questioned at times. In the 2024/25 season, Enzo Maresca said he expected more from James as a leader at one stage.

Chelsea needed this break BADLY… but with so many players racking up minutes for their countries, did it actually help them or could it have made things worse? 🤔

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Azpilicueta wants people to give James more time, stating that his former teammate is still growing. Speaking to BBC Sport, he said: “Reece is still developing. People sometimes forget how young he still is because we’ve known him since he came through the academy. I wasn’t captain myself until I was around 28 or 29.

“Since he got into the first team, you could see he was a special player. The quality was obvious. Now he’s developing the leadership side as well. When I look at him, I see a player who is still improving and who probably has his best years ahead of him.

“A lot of young players have arrived at the club, but there are also experienced players around him who can help him in the role, and I’m sure he’ll benefit from that support.”

A lack of leaders in the dressing room is clearly something Chelsea identified last term and tried to address in the summer. They brought in Jordan Henderson, a former Liverpool captain, and Maxence Lacroix, who is known to be quite vocal on the pitch.

Henderson is 36 now, but because of injuries, he has already been handed a start in the Premier League, which came in Chelsea’s 3-0 loss to Brentford just before the international break. James has also had to play in midfield because of Moises Caicedo’s absence and Enzo Fernandez’s exit.

He recently picked up his own injury, but with it not thought to be too serious, James and Henderson could line up in midfield together when Chelsea face Bournemouth this Saturday. It is not ideal, but Xabi Alonso is really lacking options in that area of the pitch right now.

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