John Terry agrees with Thomas Tuchel on the Enzo Maresca Chelsea error being made

From one Chelsea captain to another, John Terry believes that Reece James is best used at right-back rather than in midfield. It comes after his first call-up for an England squad in over two years, following a run of nearly four months injury-free.

Having announced himself on the world stage as one of the most exciting young full-backs in an attacking role under Frank Lampard and then even further forward with Thomas Tuchel at Chelsea, James has been hampered by fitness setbacks. In a bid to combat his struggles, current boss Enzo Maresca has turned to a central role instead.

Due to stylistic preferences of having his full-backs invert and rarely playing high and wide, as well as limiting James' physical demands, Maresca has started to deploy the 25-year-old in midfield as a primary position of late. In his last five appearances James has been nominally a midfielder.

However, having made his name as a dynamic crosser able to crash into the box to score and assist, combining that with exceptional one-on-one defending and a range of passing, James still has a lot to learn. It is one reason why Tuchel has been open about selecting James for the upcoming international games with a spot in his backline in mind.

"I know Reece," the new head coach said earlier this week. "In calling him up now, we made sure before we called him up that he was constantly available in training, that he was constantly available to be picked for matches - so that when he’s not picked for matches, it’s not because of injury, it’s just a choice of the club to maybe protect him a little bit. This was the basis for the nomination.

"I still feel he is a player for the full-back and wing-back positions, I think we have enough players in central midfield who are more specialists there." When asked if James' track record with injury would be an issue, Tuchel added: "We need to see if he can do this. He needs to prove the point, to be honest, he needs to prove that he can do it.

"I’m aware he was exposed to less high-intensity work because he played a different role, he started playing in a back three, so with the ball they were building a back three with him which he did also for me at Chelsea.

"In Copenhagen he played in midfield so you are not exposed to high-intensity runs but the history and the numbers recently tell is it is possible so it’s on him to prove the point." Terry is on the same page. "I agree with that," he said. "I see him as a defender.

"I don't like it, to be honest, people drifting in. I think it is more confusing. Midfielders are very comfortable with their back to goal. When defenders step into those roles it is probably the opposite, we are probably not as comfortable receiving the ball with our back to goal.

"A very different role and first and foremost, talking about the 2005/06 season, we conceded 15 goals and top teams are built around good foundations and I think you need that. To be able to do that, you need a back four or a solid back three in place."

Whilst James has scored from midfield and showed signs of being able to adapt, he has also looked uncomfortable at times as well. For Maresca, it has been a role he always had lined up.

"You can ask Reece, the day after I signed with Chelsea, I sent him a video about seeing him as a midfielder," the Chelsea coach explained last month. "I see Reece as a midfielder, not just now but since day one. Before I met him for the first time, when he was on holiday, I sent him a clip of how he could play as a midfielder.

"So I imagined him playing as a midfielder a long time ago. He is playing [there] now, but the good thing is this season he has played as a full-back, a central defender, many positions, but the main target for us is to help him stay fit all season."

Maresca added: "When you watch a player, you have to use your imagination and imagine a player doing something. So, I always imagined him behaving as a midfielder. I then watched some of his games when he was on loan at Wigan, and I still remember he scored a fantastic goal from 30 metres as a midfielder. So I remembered the video I sent him."

One thing that James is actively looking to change is his captaincy. Terry commented on that as well. "Reece leads the team differently to the way I did which is fine. There are different ways to be a captain and a leader.

"I said this to him, Reece has to be 100 per cent Reece James. He doesn't need to be 10 per cent John Terry. He has to be really authentic because he is the one speaking in front of the boys as well and - if not - people will see through.

"He is doing a good job, but I think first and foremost when you are at a captain of a football club you need to be consistent in your performances and to do that you have to play week in and week out."

Maresca has also been impressed with his recent transformation. "Especially, the best thing in this moment is he is helping us in leadership [too]. He is growing a lot and this is important.’

The next stop for James is building up his fitness more and more. Chelsea and England will hope that the positional matters then sort themselves out along the way.

John Terry was speaking about Chelsea and the upcoming FIFA Club World Cup. Watch every game from the FIFA Club World Cup on DAZN for free. Sign up today.

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