England manager and former Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel is the latest to question Enzo Maresca's decision to deploy Reece James in midfield.
Maresca has played James centrally in each of his last four appearances for Chelsea, insisting he has always viewed the right-back as a natural midfielder.
"You can ask Reece, when I signed for Chelsea, the day after I sent him a video about seeing him as a midfielder," Maresca said after Chelsea's 2-1 win over FC Copenhagen in the Europa Conference League, a match where James started in midfield and scored the opener.
"I see Reece as a midfielder," he reiterated. "Since day one."
However, James returned to his natural position for England in Monday's 2-0 win over Latvia in the 2026 World Cup qualifiers, delivering a stellar performance, capped off with a superb free-kick just before halftime, that earned him Man of the Match.
Speaking after the game, Tuchel – who managed Chelsea between 2021 and 2022 – was asked if he had ever considered using James in midfield during his Champions League-winning tenure at Stamford Bridge.
"Very, very rarely with Chelsea," he admitted. "If you play a dominant match like today he can be in the last 20 minutes a hybrid midfielder where he comes from the left or right full-back position and helps in midfield to create an overload because he has the quality on the ball to accelerate with his passes, to play chip balls, to switch sides."
"He's very confident," the German coach added. "If it's an open game and there are a lot of transitions through midfield, I'm not so sure if it would suit him perfectly."
Tuchel isn't the first person to question Maresca's view on James' best position. Former Chelsea captain John Terry also believes James is best suited to defence.
"I see him as a defender," Terry told BBC Sport. "I don't like it, to be honest, people drifting in [to midfielder] I think it is more confusing."
"Midfielders are very comfortable with their back to goal. When defenders step into those roles it is probably the opposite, we are probably not as comfortable receiving the ball with our back to goal," he explained.
James, who has missed 50 games in the last 18 months due to injury, meanwhile, remains unfazed by the debate.
"Football is football to me," he said after England's victory, per Hayters TV via Yahoo Sports. "I've been sidelined for so long. If I play midfield, if I play right-back, I have a job to do—to help the team and perform to the best of my ability."
What is Reece James' best position?
Everything Chelsea says...
Reece James is such a technically gifted footballer that he could likely excel in almost any position – whether at right-back, centre-back, on the wing, or even in midfield.
Unsurprisingly, though, he thrives most in his natural role.
James possesses all the qualities of a world-class full-back. He’s quick, strong, an excellent tackler, and has outstanding positional awareness, along with a wicked delivery into the box.
The only lingering question is whether he can still maintain the stamina to surge up and down the right flank for a full 90 minutes. Only time will tell if injuries have diminished that ability.
His performances as a right wing-back under Thomas Tuchel during Chelsea’s 2021 Champions League-winning campaign were nothing short of extraordinary. At the time, many considered him the best right-back in the world – a belief that Manchester City’s Kyle Walker still holds today, despite James’ injury struggles in recent seasons.
James is also impressive in midfield, boasting great vision and passing range. However, he falls short of Moises Caicedo in ball recovery and tackling and lacks the creative spark of Enzo Fernandez when driving forward.
Maresca’s decision to deploy arguably the world’s best right-back in an unfamiliar role is an experiment that no longer needs to continue. Hopefully, he will take Tuchel’s advice and restore James to his best position before it's too late.
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