Enzo Maresca has hailed Reece James’s growing influence as Chelsea captain - three months after calling him out for a lack of leadership.
James was named Blues skipper by Mauricio Pochettino at the start of last season and has kept the responsibility since Maresca’s appointment, despite missing much of the campaign so far with a series of hamstring issues.
Back in October, Maresca publicly criticised James for his failure to lead the side behind the scenes during his injury absence, admitting he “expected more” from a player who has been at the club since the age of six.
“He [James] is a reserved guy, but not only him,” Maresca said at the time. “I think we don’t have a proper leader. We don’t have those guys.”
James returned to fitness earlier this month, coming off the bench to bail Chelsea out with a late free-kick equaliser in the 2-2 draw against Bournemouth.
The Englishman has led the side out in each of the two Premier League games since and Maresca has been impressed by his response to that public rebuke.
“Since that, he's improving, he's getting better,” Maresca said. “We are very happy that he is back. For us, we consider Reece a top player, one of the best players we have and for sure he's going to help from now on.
“He's trying to make an effort in terms of leadership. I said many times, the captain, all the captains, they have to be a good example.
“They have to try to, with all the teammates, especially in this team that we have many young players."
