Thomas Tuchel has hailed Reece James upon the England international’s return to the Chelsea starting lineup.
James made his first start since December in a 4-0 win away at Burnley, a game in which he scored the opener and helped set-up two others as a Kai Havertz double and Christian Pulisic ensured Chelsea left Turf Moor with all three points following a difficult opening forty-five minutes.
Injuries to both Ben Chilwell and James saw Chelsea’s title challenge run off the rails towards the turn of the year but the latter’s return could help the team finish the season strongly.
Both the FA Cup and the Champions League offer avenues of success between now and the end of the campaign and, given the quick-fire improvement James’ return has brought about, few would rule Tuchel’s team out of contention for either.
Speaking after the win at Turf Moor, the German waxed lyrical about James.
"We missed him for such a long time that we almost got used to it,” he said.
“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.
"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."
