Chelsea defender Reece James has revealed that he ranks Vinicius Jr, Rafael Leao and Sadio Mane as the “hardest” opponents he has ever faced in his career.
The 22-year-old has been a consistent figure in the Blues’ first-team since his breakthrough in the 2019/20 season. He has been a huge success in that time having played his role in Champions League, Club World Cup and UEFA Super Cup successes under former boss Thomas Tuchel.
In that time, he has accumulated 134 appearances for the West London club and has developed the reputation of one of the best attacking fullbacks in the Premier League. He has faced a number of the world’s most eye-catching players in that time and in a Twitter Q&A revealed who he had the toughest time against.
Replying to a question, the Chelsea star wrote: “3 hardest players I’ve ever played against are all left wingers! Vinicius Jr, [Rafael] Leao and [Sadio] Mane!”
James regularly came up against former Liverpool star Mane during the Senegalese’s time at Anfield - the forward finding the net twice when the Chelsea man was on the pitch. Intriguingly, James has played against Vincius’ Real Madrid on four occasions in his career andthe Brazilian is yet to find the net against the Premier League side.
Portuguese forward Leao - who has been linked with a move to Chelsea - played against the Blues twice in the Champions League earlier this season but failed to score.
Would Reece James have been played at the World Cup should he have been fit? Share your thoughts in the comments below
During his Q&A session, James was also afforded the opportunity to weigh in on the long-running Cristiano Ronaldo vs Lionel Messi debate. The Blues’ defender was forthright in his opinion having simply replied “Ronaldo” when asked who he preferred.
James will certainly hope to be able to test himself against some of the Premier League’s best again once he returns from injury. The former Wigan Athletic loanee has been ruled out since mid-October having suffered a knee problem in the Blues’ Champions League victory against AC Milan.
He did have hope of making the England squad for the current World Cup in Qatar but was forced to miss out having failed to overcome the injury in time for the tournament, something that left him “devastated”.
Taking to Twitter after his absence was confirmed, he wrote: "The minute I injured my knee, I knew the turnaround to make the World Cup would be tight, but I always felt it was possible.
"I've worked harder than I ever thought I could to give myself the best chance of going and truly believed I could help the team. I appreciate there was risk on both sides but it was one I was willing to take."
