I see Reece James as a midfielder, says Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca | OneFootball

Chelsea head coach Enzo Maresca has his sights on reinventing Reece James as a midfielder after the captain played in the position and scored in the team’s 2-1 Conference League win against Copenhagen.

The 25-year-old struck 56 seconds after half-time to break the deadlock in what had been a dour display in the last-16 first leg.

Chelsea failed to muster a shot on target in the first half, but by the 65th minute they were two up, Enzo Fernandez coming off the bench to finish into the corner before a late defensive lapse allowed defender Gabriel Pereira to head in from a free-kick to restore jeopardy to the tie ahead of next Thursday’s return at Stamford Bridge.

Despite watching his side struggle to break down the hosts, Maresca was content with the experiment in moving James into midfield and indicated it will not be the last time he features there.

“You can ask Reece, when I signed for Chelsea, the day after I sent him a video about seeing him as a midfielder,” said Maresca.

“I see Reece as a midfielder. Since day one. I sent him a clip when he was on holiday about how he can be a midfielder. He has played in full-back, central defender, so the main target for us is to keep him fit.

“We know how important he is for us. He’s our captain, a fantastic player. We need him fit, so that is our duty, our target, because for sure he is going to help us. He can play in many positions because the good players can play in many positions.”

James was one of two natural right-backs that started for Chelsea, with Malo Gusto also deployed in an unfamiliar position at left-back prior to going off injured midway through the first half.

Maresca said he expected Gusto to be available for Sunday’s Premier League meeting at home to Leicester.

After that Chelsea will look to finish the job against the Danish Superliga side, although the second leg takes on a different complexion after Copenhagen struck in the 79th minute, Pereira allowed to trot into the visitors’ box at a free-kick and head forcefully past Robert Sanchez.

“It has been a little bit of a sloppy goal,” said Maresca. “We can avoid that. It’s football, it can happen. Now 90 minutes have finished and now we have 90 more minutes against them.

“The main game for us is Sunday’s game at home and we need our fans for 100 minutes behind the team and pushing the team.

“If we can win against Leicester on Sunday, we can do one more step to finishing in the Champions League, (whether) top four or top five, I do not know.”