Should Chelsea sell Reece James amid exit rumours?

Cameron Smith

• Updated: 31 Mar 2024 15:29 BST
• 4 min read

Chelsea are reportedly willing to sell Reece James this summer in order to ease their financial fair play concerns.

The England right-back was named as Chelsea’s club captain by Mauricio Pochettino last summer, following Cesar Azpilicueta’s departure, but he is seen as a sellable asset, according to The Times’ Duncan Castles.

As per the report, the Blues are prepared to sell both Conor Gallagher and James this summer to avoid breaching spending regulations.

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While the idea of selling James is certainly one that will not go down well within the Chelsea fanbase - given the fact he’s an academy product and is one of the world’s best defenders - it may make sense.

Of course, James is a world-class right-back on his day, but his day simply doesn’t come particularly often due to injury. When he’s fully fit and on the pitch, James is arguably Chelsea’s most important player, however he has made just nine appearances in all competitions so far this season courtesy of two separate injury issues.

Furthermore, Chelsea staff are unsure whether James will feature again this season.

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Of course, he underwent hamstring surgery after his most recent injury in November, which may have fixed the issue, but James is an extremely injury-prone player.

In fact, Chelsea’s squad is full of injury-prone players and this has arguably been their biggest problem so far this season.

Should Chelsea sell Reece James?

Real Madrid have a historical interest in James and while selling the Englishman would anger Chelsea fans, it could be a smart move if the Blues believe his injury woes are here to stay for the rest of his career.

Malo Gusto’s form at right-back has been sensational this season and although the France international isn’t yet at James’ level, he isn’t far behind and he has crucially been available for the majority of the season.

Last season, Chelsea were a significantly worse team whenever James was absent, whereas that isn’t quite the case this campaign due to Gusto.

Selling James shouldn’t be a priority for the Blues, but it wouldn’t be the end of the world if he does depart this summer. A fee of over €60 million should be enough to convince Chelsea to sell their captain unless they believe his injury problems will soon be over.