Chelsea head coach Xabi Alonso has welcomed Reece James back into his squad after the club captain made his first pre-season appearance in Saturday’s 3-1 win over Real Sociedad.
James only returned to training earlier this week following his involvement in England’s World Cup campaign, but Alonso was impressed by the defender’s contribution after just a few days of work with the team.
The Chelsea boss highlighted the qualities that make James such an important figure for the club.
“Personality, leadership, experience, quality, composure with the ball, competitiveness without the ball,” Alonso said in his post-match reaction.
“He’s very flexible in his style and in different positions, he’s a legend in the club, and he is a key player for the team.”
James played alongside fellow returning players Maxence Lacroix and Morgan Rogers, with Rogers opening the scoring against Sociedad.
Alonso hails ‘quality’ of James after Chelsea return
Alonso was encouraged by how quickly the players who had only recently returned from the World Cup adapted to the demands of the game.
“They did quite well to play this well after just three days of training,” he said.
The Chelsea manager nevertheless stressed that there is plenty of work still to do before the new season begins, with the focus now turning towards building the squad’s fitness and understanding.
“It’s early days and there is so much to connect and improve and live together, but the most important is the hunger and the desire they have to want to have a great season,” Alonso said.
“Most of the players are fit to train. The fitness levels of some are higher than others after pre-season, but all of them will be good.”
Chelsea now have five training sessions scheduled before their Premier League meeting with Fulham, as Alonso continues to prepare his squad for the new campaign.