Former Aston Villa star Gabby Agbonlahor has recommended national team manager Gareth Southgate to opt for Chelsea's Reece James over Liverpool's Trent Alexander-Arnold for the upcoming Qatar World Cup later this year.
James, 22, scored the highest in WhoScored.com's ratings alongside Christian Pulisic from Turf Moor in Chelsea's emphatic 4-0 win against Burnley on Saturday afternoon as his presence has got the west Londoners back on the right track despite some off the field uncertainty with Roman Abramovich's sale of the club.
His well taken goal just after half-time coupled with his one assist gained in Lancashire delighted manager Thomas Tuchel who waxed lyrical of his first-choice in whom he's missed dearly during his nine week injury absence.
"We missed him for such a long time that we almost got used to it. I think it was like nine weeks and we played something like 25 matches in that time. We were constantly trying to find solutions and we did find solutions as a team, and we managed to win games and even trophies in this period," Tuchel admitted post-match in his press conference.
"But once he is back and plays three times, and first time from the beginning, you see what we missed. Huge quality and it's very impressive how decisive he is in training and in the games.
"These positions are very important positions if you play with this structure and it's the same on the left side. So it puts things into perspective when you see what we missed and I am very happy that he came back like this."
Fast forward a few hours on Saturday and Liverpool's Trent Alexander-Arnold was part of Jurgen Klopp's eleven who didn't perform at their optimum but still did enough to keep tabs with Man City at the top after grinding out a 1-0 victory against West Ham United.
Sadio Mane's goal proved to be enough despite a flurry of chances being missed throughout the 90 minutes from Michail Antonio and Pablo Fornals.
Unsurprisingly, seeing the nature of the two results between the two Carabao Cup finalists this weekend, James came out on top in the ongoing debate as he scored higher offensively and defensively in comparison to Liverpool's number 66 this weekend.
The defensive aspect of this was highlighted by Agbonlahor who has told Southgate why he needs to select the 22-year-old for the upcoming FIFA Qatar World Cup in comparison to his biggest competitor in the England set-up.
He explained his opinion on talkSPORT: "I'll choose Reece James only because he's better defensively and still, even if you say Trent is a 10 out of 10 on the ball, then you can say James is at least a 9 out of 10.
"So, that's enough that you need in that position that Reece James offers.
"Look at Reece James today, scored and assisted.
"He's giving out goals and assists as well, just like Alexander-Arnold but Reece James is a lot better defensively.
"He looks quicker as well, so for me, I have to choose Reece James."
