Reece James is stepping up as a strong captain at Chelsea now

If we can keep Reece James as fit as possible going into this new season and beyond, he can easily be one of the best overall players in world football. He is THAT good.

Watching James mature not just on the pitch but off it as well, over these last couple of seasons, has been a real joy to watch.

I remember writing articles about James saying I wanted to see him more vocal and doing more ‘captain things’. And now, we see it every week. He’s grown into the role like we all believed he would and needed to. And now he’s become a stand up captain. I see him motivating players during the games, I see him getting involved to calm his team mates down or back them up, I see him talking much more, and he is also saying all the right ‘captain things’ off the pitch.

This is exactly what we want and need to hear as fans. We have expectations because if you don’t, then where are the standards? James is right, this IS Chelsea FC, we are meant to be challenging for titles at all times. If we let those standards slip, ever, who is to say they would ever come back?

It’s so important to breed this mentality into everyone at the club, regardless of who the players are, who the owners are, who the manager is, this HAS to be our ethos.

To hear our club captain talking this way fills me with more confidence going into the new season.

James leads by example on the pitch and he is now standing up off it as well. He’s turning into a very good captain.

I just hope every single day that he can stay fit for a sustained period. Because he’s got the world at his feet now if he can just keep himself as fit and injury-free as possible.