The young right-back brought an extra dimension to Chelsea’s attack in the 4-4 draw and justified Frank Lampard’s faithChelsea’s fans loved their first glimpse of Reece James. The 19-year-old right-back missed the start of the season with a foot injury, forcing him to watch from the treatment room as Tammy Abraham, Mason Mount and Fikayo Tomori illustrated the excellence of Chelsea’s academy, but there was no holding back once he had proved his fitness in training to Frank Lampard. James made his debut in the 7-1 Carabao Cup victory over Grimsby in September and he demonstrated his potential in style, laying on assists for Michy Batshuayi and Kurt Zouma before scoring his first goal for the club with a spectacular shot from 25 yards.
That was only the start, though. Excelling against League Two opponents was one thing but the stakes were far higher when Lampard replaced Marcos Alonso with James at half-time against Ajax on Tuesday. David Neres and Hakim Ziyech had overwhelmed Alonso by doubling up on the left-back during the first half and Lampard had to act with his team trailing 3-1 at home. His response was to put James at right-back and move César Azpilicueta, who had struggled against Quincy Promes, to the left.