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Jake Stokes

How Reece James has prepared for Aston Villa clash as Chelsea star copies Enzo Fernandez 'omen'

Reece James has shown off his new haircut ahead of Chelsea's clash with Aston Villa. Graham Potter's side will welcome the Villans to Stamford Bridge on Saturday afternoon as the Blues plot an ambitious push for top-four following the international break.

The west London outfit currently sit tenth in the Premier League on 38 points and a defeat to Unai Emery will see Chelsea fall into the bottom half of the table. In what is shaping up to be a much more significant tie than first thought, James seems ready for the big occasion after taking a visit to high-end barbershop A-Star Barbers in Chessington.

A-Star Barbers have been cutting the hair of various footballers for a while now, namely Eden Hazard, Kylian Mbappe and Paul Pogba. Whether it's a coincidence or not, James has gone for the same bleach-blonde and skin fade as Enzo Fernandez.

READ MORE: Chelsea predicted lineup vs Aston Villa as Graham Potter explains N'Golo Kante role

The midfielder dyed his hair blonde when summoned to international duty with Argentina earlier this month. Fernandez wrapped up his record-breaking move to Chelsea while blonde, so the hair colour could be a lucky omen for him having hit the ground running in west London.

James will be hoping for the same luck against Villa amid concerns over his fitness. The 23-year-old withdrew from the England squad on Sunday evening due to an 'ongoing issue' with a minor hamstring issue.

The Chelsea defender has struggled with various injuries problems all season-long and unfortunately, it looked like to be another setback. However, it appears that James' withdrawal was just simply a precaution having been pictured in training at Cobham.

Speaking to the press ahead of the clash with Villa, Potter issued an update on the right-back. The Blues boss said: "Reece as well, he's had the last two training sessions with us so providing there's no reaction, he should be available."

Then, on the international breaker, Potter added: "I wouldn't say it's good or bad. There's nothing you can do about it, you've just got to take what they are and use them as positively as we can.

"We've had a bit of time, N'Golo has had some time on the pitch and a bit more game time so that's been good for him. We had a handful of players, not even, in the first week so they were more working individually.

"The rest of us were reflecting and analysing how we can improve and looking forward to this game at the weekend."

READ NEXT:

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Graham Potter confirms five Chelsea players will miss Aston Villa clash amid Reece James update

N'Golo Kante, Wesley Fofana, Reece James: Chelsea injury news and return dates for Aston Villa

Fernandez, Havertz and Fofana's fine March sparks player of the month debate

Chelsea news and transfers LIVE: All the latest news, rumours and gossip from Stamford Bridge

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