During this summer's US tour, when asked whether he would continue to be captain for Reece James next season, Enzo Maresca gave reporters an open answer.
"I want James to be one of the leaders of the club. I like working with responsible players. They can all become leaders, even captain.
Sometimes, the number can be 4, 5 or 6, as long as they can represent Chelsea's image and will. They need to feel responsible and act like a captain."
Meanwhile, Reece James shared that his new coach had never spoken to him about captaincy. Previously, when Mauricio Pochettino took over Chelsea, the Argentine captain also wavered for a while before deciding to take the captain's armband to Reece James.
As for James, he always wanted to be the captain of Chelsea. Currently, the English star and his teammates are going through a summer tour of 2024 in the US. The heat and the difference in the time zone greatly affected the players' physical strength.
After a season with a new responsibility, the 24-year-old defender has now caught up. Previously, James was quite shy in front of the media, but now he shows an active attitude.
Last week, this star volunteered to appear with Mr. Maresca in an interview, despite knowing that there would be difficult questions related to Enzo Fernandez's scandal.
Chelsea are going through unsatisfactory friendlies. They drew 2-2 with Wrexham and were just crushed by Celtic with a score of 4-1. It is known that friendly matches are only for Team testing and heating up, but not winning any such match still leaves scars in the minds of many players. As a captain, James needs to maintain a positive atmosphere in the dressing room.
For James personally, injuries will be the biggest obstacle to whether he will continue to be the captain of Chelsea in the coming season or not. Last season, the English star only played 19 matches in the Premier League, mostly due to injury.
In previous campaigns, James played the most seasons with only 25/38 matches. Currently, Malo gust is showing a good replacement at right-back. James needs to make efforts and add luck if he does not want to lose his position.
If he returns to play, James also needs to limit the heat on the pitch. If he is registered to play from the first match of the 2024-2025 season, the 24-year-old defender will have to miss 3 matches due to suspension due to a penalty card. Last season, James received a red card twice.
He once received 2 yellow cards in the match against Newcastle. In the penultimate match of last season, James received a direct red card for a rough foul on Brighton's Joao Pedro. The initial penalty was 3 draws but later increased to 4.
James also had another big problem last season. He was fined £90,000 by the FA for inappropriate language and insulting the referee after Chelsea's 0-1 loss to Aston Villa in September. Obviously, a captain should not take such actions. James needs to be more mature so that his teammates can follow his example.
James' final problem is Maresca's ability to adapt to the formation. The former Leicester captain likes full-backs to get inside to play as a holding midfielder in every attack from the home team. The 24-year-old defender's strongest point is his speedy border climbs. He will need time to adapt if he does not want to get lost.
