Real Madrid vs. Chelsea: Ranking the 5 best players on the Blues

4) Reece James

Reece James is an ideal right-back for Real Madrid. I love his game, his brilliant two-way presence and his really, really mature way of looking at things. The man makes amazing runs behind the defensive line, and is a really key part of Chelsea’s gameplan. He has five goals and six assists to his name in the Premier League, which is fantastic for a wing-back.

Yeah, he plays as a wing-back but honestly, even if it was a four-at-the-back system, Reece James would do just fine. He’s very good defensively, one of the reasons why Tuchel went for him as a centre-back on some occasions. And, he provides the type of threat going forward that not many others do. The only right-back I would place above him right now in terms of quality would be Trent-Alexander Arnold, just because that guy is just incredible, and Reece James has some way to go before becoming that good.

The positive side is, he is still very young, only 22 years old, and we can see him perform at very high levels soon.

The only reason I have him placed at 4th instead of in the top three is his lack of fitness this season. Reece James isn’t particularly an injury-prone player, but he has been injured a few times this season, particularly in crucial stretches. If he was a bit luckier in this regard, we’re looking at a top-two finish.

Here’s something though: if him and Mendy both play I’m not too worried about him individually. But, put James with Mount or Havertz and they can cause Mendy some problems, even though Mendy is good enough to hold his own. It’s going to be an exciting duel, and it remains to be seen who comes out on top.