Reece James News

With Liam Rosenior's side battling to qualify for the Champions League - and a host of negative stories off the pitch - our Chelsea expert KIERAN GILL answers your burning questions.

Manchester City produced a sterling second-half performance to blow away Chelsea 3-0 at Stamford Bridge and increase the tension in the Premier League title battle.

On Friday, the same day that Liam Rosenior announced Enzo Fernandez's two-game ban, a source told us to take a look at Enzo Maresca's new WhatsApp profile picture.

There's keeping it real, and then there's keeping it Real. It's a surprise nobody used April Fool's Day to make up quotes claiming Fernandez would like to name his next child after Florentino Perez.

Liam Rosenior will not need a warning before his Friday morning press conference that he will face questions on Marc Cucurella. He may seek to play it down, but it should worry Chelsea.

After more than three years in exile, Ben White is back. The England recall, a first since he walked out on Gareth Southgate's World Cup camp in 2022, is a surprise shot at redemption.

There are an awful lot of blowhards in the vanguard of the BlueCo project that is turning Chelsea Football Club into a playground for its toxic experiment in melding arrogance with startling naivety.

There's a whole host of questions that Chelsea must answer after the 8-2 aggregate thrashing by PSG - here, our Blues expert KIERAN GILL answers the seven most pressing ones.

Liam Rosenior's men trail 5-2 on aggregate after suffering a heavy defeat in Paris last week.

KIERAN GILL: James surprisingly joined Blues boss Liam Rosenior for his pre-Newcastle United press conference at their Cobham base on Friday afternoon after his deal had been announced.

The Blues captain, 26, has put pen to paper on fresh terms with his previous deal set to expire in 2028, with the new contract aligns with the club's incentivised wage structure.

KIERAN GILL: While it is hard not to think Liam Rosenior has created an unnecessary headache for himself, history tells us Chelsea's headstrong head coach will withstand the scrutiny.

Fresh from being dismissed by Hull City despite finishing one place outside the play-offs, the 41-year-old Englishman had to adapt fast after being headhunted by BlueCo in summer 2024.

KIERAN GILL: Rather than defuse the bust-up following the Club World Cup final, PSG boss Luis Enrique fuelled the fire by raking his fingers down the face of Chelsea's Joao Pedro.

CHELSEA CONFIDENTIAL: We tried out the technology that's making the best even better - now used by 10,000 players in 80 countries and at more than 100 clubs.

The Championship side had lined up the excited youngsters near the away dressing room before kick-off at the MKM Stadium on Friday.

Having lost out on Jeremy Jacquet, the 20-year-old centre back who signed a £60million pre-agreement with Liverpool late in the window, the Blues remain in the market for a defender.

KIERAN GILL: Of all the Chelsea players seeking revenge on Tuesday for their embarrassment at Elland Road, Pedro Neto should be chief among them.

Chelsea's Liam Rosenior could hardly face a tougher first test at Stamford Bridge than Arsenal on Wednesday night, but he will be confident his side have more than enough talent to spring an upset. 

CHELSEA CONFIDENTIAL: Filipe Luis was floated as a contender to become Chelsea's new head coach, but any apparent attempts at hiring him were doomed to fail.

Chelsea may well need to make January count. Here, our expert KIERAN GILL answers everything you need to know about the upcoming transfer window.

Newcastle led 2-0 after an abysmal first half from the visitors, but a fantastic free-kick from Reece James and a cool finish from Joao Pedro saw Maresca's side leave with a draw.

CRAIG HOPE: Chelsea's first-half performance needed no decoding - it was useless. In mitigation, they ran into a Newcastle side who produced their best half of the season.

KIERAN GILL AT ST JAMES' PARK: Chelsea came back from two goals down to rescue a valuable point away to Newcastle.

Just as actors will not say 'Macbeth' in theatres for fear it will bring a hex upon their heads, neither will you find anyone associated with Chelsea mentioning the T-word currently.

KIERAN GILL: Those not following Chelsea too closely may be confused, given the 25-year-old England international is best known for being a brilliant right back.

EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW BY KIERAN GILL: Moises Caicedo initially struggled at Chelsea and, yes, he saw the messages. Hope you kept the receipt. Never worth £115million. British record flop.

KIERAN GILL AT TURF MOOR: Every now and then, the elite tacticians can be accused of trying to be too clever for their own good. Today that could not be levelled at Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca.

While there have been repeated calls from within the Stamford Bridge faithful to replace the player, it appears now that Boehly has no intention of answering these critics.

Delap recently returned from a hamstring injury which sidelined him for two months but is hoping a good second half of the season can place him in contention for this summer's World Cup.

A comprehensive 2-0 victory against Serbia on a drenched Thursday at Wembley now places England in contention to join an exclusive club alongside Italy and Belgium. 

KIERAN GILL: Now, there is a newfound confidence and an increasing authority to James which comes with his consistent presence in the changing room at Cobham and Stamford Bridge.

No Premier League manager rotates as much as Maresca, though he does so with the blessing of the Blues' hierarchy, who believe it will benefit their squad come the end of this long campaign.

OLIVER HOLT AT THE TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR STADIUM: This had felt like a pivotal clash for Enzo Maresca and his players and they came through it impressively.

The Premier League has issued an explanation to clarify why Tottenham midfielder Rodrigo Bentancur was not shown a straight red card for his tackle on Chelsea's Reece James on Saturday.

Liam Delap is good at mathematics. Scarily good. A walking calculator who can solve complex equations for fun.

Within Chelsea, they call it 'crossing the road' when an academy boy receives word that he has been called up to train with the first team.

We can only hope for as much drama in the next episode of The Celebrity Traitors as we saw on Monday night when Moises Caicedo took to social media.

Chelsea have been dealt a potential injury blow with one of Enzo Maresca's key players having been forced to withdraw from international duty with a knee issue.

We put out the call for your questions in a special edition of Chelsea Confidential. Here, our Chelsea expert KIERAN GILL reveals everything you need to know.

Thomas Tuchel has called up an inexperienced 20-year-old starlet to replace Reece James in the England squad for their upcoming internationals.

The incident came after Thomas Tuchel 's side took a 2-0 lead thanks to goals from Harry Kane and Noni Madueke, who bagged his first for his country.

Lauren James has started all five of England's games at this summer's tournament so far, scoring twice, although she was substituted at half-time in the semi-final victory over Italy after taking a knock.

The President and the First Lady were both in attendance at MetLife Stadium as Chelsea cruised to a shock 3-0 over Champions League winners Paris Saint-Germain.

Viewers witnessed unlikely exchanges between Trump and Chelsea stars, including Cole Palmer and Reece James, as the US President gatecrashed Chelsea's Club World Cup trophy celebrations.

After the game concluded, the broadcaster aired a three-and-a-half minute long interview with Trump where he teased an executive order, which would rename the sport in the United States.

KIERAN GILL IN NEW YORK: PSG have kept the ball better than anyone at the Club World Cup - they even managed 69 per cent possession versus Real Madrid but the Blues intend on challenging that.

KIERAN GILL IN PHILADELPHIA: The 25-year-old right back told us how the ball is not bouncing properly and players are feeling leggier than usual.

Tyrique George is practically a collector's item at Chelsea - a 19-year-old from their Cobham production line who cracked first team football without needing any loans.

KIERAN GILL IN ATLANTA: One by one, Chelsea's players boarded their eight-hour flight to Philadelphia and turned right - but not Cole Palmer, who turned left for a tour of the cockpit by the pilot.

DANNY MURPHY: Five Chelsea players are in Tuchel's squad, squeezing in games against Andorra and Senegal between winning a European final and competing at the Club World Cup.

The Blues completed a historic set of European trophies after beating their Spanish counterparts 4-1 on Wednesday night - having fought back from one-goal down.

KIERAN GILL IN WROCLAW: Enzo Maresca hopes Chelsea's stirring comeback in Wednesday's Conference League thrashing of Real Betis can be the start of something special.

EXCLUSIVE BY KIERAN GILL: If your knowledge of chess is limited to cheating with vibrating beads and The Queen's Gambit, then Enzo Maresca's 42-page thesis may not be the first thing you turn to read.

TNT Sports were forced into an apology after Chelsea captain Reece James was unable to contain his excitement following the historic appearance of youngster Reggie Walsh.

CHELSEA CONFIDENTIAL: We asked last week for you to send in your questions for our expert KIERAN GILL to answer - and you responded in droves.

Rival fans have brutally mocked Chelsea for their exuberant celebrations after they beat champions Liverpool to take a huge step towards securing Champions League qualification.

The Blues still progressed to the semi-finals of the competition, but they put in a dreadful performance at Stamford Bridge and were booed off but supporters.

England's opening two 2026 World Cup qualifiers have now concluded, and for head coach Thomas Tuchel, it's time for some reflection.

JACK GAUGHAN AT WEMBLEY: A stunning Reece James free kick illuminated the World Cup qualifier, with Harry Kane and Eberechi Eze both adding gloss after Bellingham's substitution.

Harry Kane has promised there is more to come from England under Thomas Tuchel after the German made it two wins from two at Wembley to kick off his reign as boss. 

The likes of Harry Kane and Eberechi Eze were on the score sheet to help the hosts make it two wins from two in World Cup qualifying for 2026, but they had just eight shots on target from 27 efforts.

JACK GAUGHAN AT WEMBLEY: England notched up another confidence-boosting win under new manager Thomas Tuchel, claiming a 3-0 victory against Latvia at Wembley on Monday.

The deadlock was yet to be broken in the World Cup qualifier at Wembley when the Three Lions won a the set-piece opportunity 25 yards from goal.

John Terry has spoken out about Enzo Maresca's verdict on Reece James, as the Chelsea legend revealed he 'does not like' the Blues manager's assessment of the right back.

KIERAN GILL AT STAMFORD BRIDGE: Chelsea won as they should have when Leicester are in straits as dire as this under Ruud van Nistelrooy.

Enzo Maresca has revealed that playing Reece James in midfield was part of his plan from the very beginning, insisting he told the Chelsea captain he saw him as a No.6.

Chelsea have arrived as strong favourites at the Parken stadium despite their heavy squad rotation as manager Enzo Maresca appeared to provide the club's youth an opportunity.

KIERAN GILL AT THE PARKEN STADIUM, COPENHAGEN: Enzo Maresca's Reece James experiment in midfield helped Chelsea secure their slender advantage over Copenhagen.

A lucky football fan is £100,000 better off after Reece James' 95th minute equaliser against Bournemouth helped him secure the jackpot prize on Super 6 last week.

In 2007-08, when 41 free-kicks found the net, one in every 25 Premier League goals was a free-kick. Last season, it was one in every 111. This one, before this weekend, one in every 90.

KIERAN GILL AT STAMFORD BRIDGE: Up stepped Reece James, club captain and saviour, as the substitute now free from injury struck the ball into the far corner and beyond Mark Travers.

KIERAN GILL: James did not complete the full session as the club want to build him back up rather than rushing his rehab, but it is an important step in the 25-year-old's recovery.

SAMI MOKBEL: The best ability is availability. James has made 45 appearances for Chelsea and England since the start of the 2022-23 season.

Head coach Enzo Maresca had said he hoped it would only be a 'small' problem. The club will need to wait to discover the extent of the damage as they hope it is indeed only minor.

Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca revealed at his press conference on Thursday that James will not be available for Saturday's match with Leicester due to struggling with a hamstring problem.

KIERAN GILL: Enzo Maresca revealed at his pre-match press conference that James is his only player sidelined as he prepares to face his old club

Ramsdale, 26, had been settling into life at Southampton after leaving Arsenal in the summer, though the club are bottom of the Premier League. He suffered a fractured finger recently.

Jamie Carragher believes that the manner of the goal Chelsea conceded against Newcastle showed why Enzo Maresca is concerned by Reece James' leadership.