Enzo Maresca has said he “expected more” leadership from Reece James following the Chelsea captain’s return from injury.
James made his first appearance of the season – and his first start since December 2023 – when he returned from a long-term hamstring injury in the 2-1 defeat by Liverpool last weekend.
The 24-year-old right-back immediately reclaimed the captain’s armband from Enzo Fernandez, but the Blues boss admitted his skipper needs to show more personality.
Our head coach Enzo Maresca is now officially on Instagram. 📲
Drop him a follow! ⤵️
— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) October 25, 2024
“I spoke with him and I expect from him more in terms of leadership inside the changing room,” said Maresca.
“He’s on the way, he’s doing well, he’s progressing but I expect more.
“Most of the time, a player thinks that ‘because I am captain I expect that you [the manager] give me more’.
“No, for me because you are the captain you have to give more. You have to give more than the rest.”
James sat out of Chelsea’s 4-1 win over Panathinaikos in the Conference League on Thursday as he rebuilds his fitness but the England international is expected to feature against Newcastle at Stamford Bridge on Sunday.
Looking ahead to Sunday. 👊 pic.twitter.com/4Q6DIn2P7j
— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) October 26, 2024
Maresca was keen to stress that it is not only James who could be doing more to motivate his teammates on and off the pitch.
“He [James] is a reserved guy, but not only him,” Maresca added.
“I think we don’t have a proper leader. We don’t have those guys. Probably Tosin [Adarabioyo] is one of the guys that is. So the rest we need to build them.”
Chelsea are currently 7th in the Premier League but have lost just once in their last nine matches in all competitions.
