Reece James conceded that 2022 has been his “toughest year to date” after being ruled out for up to a month with the injury he suffered in Chelsea’s 2-0 win over Bournemouth.
The defender’s latest setback is likely to hasten the Blues’ reported pursuit of Josip Juranovic, the Celtic right-back who impressed for Croatia during their run to the World Cup semi-finals. Juranovic, a friend and international team-mate of Chelsea midfielder Mateo Kovacic, completed 90 minutes in all of his nation’s matches except the victory against Morocco in the third-place play-off.
James, who missed the entire tournament with a knee problem, said on Wednesday that the injury, sustained completing a pass, had “naturally affected me mentally, but life is about dealing with the hand you’ve been dealt. That’s what I’m currently trying to do”.
In the short term, Graham Potter can turn to captain Cesar Azpilicueta. The Spanish full-back replaced James in the 53rd minute against the Cherries.
Unlike England, the Blues do not have a plethora of options in James’ position. Azpilicueta is now 33 and came close to leaving Stamford Bridge at the end of last season. Thomas Tuchel attempted to use Christian Pulisic as a wing-back, but it has largely been unsuccessful. Memorably, Potter also used the American and Raheem Sterling as wing-backs in his return to Brighton, which ended in a humiliating 4-1 defeat.
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The Zagreb native could have found himself in London a lot sooner. As a teenage amateur footballer, he took part in a Nike competition for Croatian boys where the winner would represent the nation in the English capital, but fell just short.
According to Sky Sports, Chelsea have already held internal talks about signing Juranovic but face competition from Barcelona, and from Celtic, who intend to offer him a new contract to ward off suitors. He still has three-and-a-half years left on his current deal.
Denzel Dumfries, the Netherlands right-back who first garnered interest from the Premier League at Euro 2020 – when he was named in the Team of the Tournament – is another option. Any pursuit of the Dutchman will not be easy, as Manchester United have also been widely linked with the 26-year-old who looks almost certain to leave Inter Milan next month.
Yet Chelsea have little time to waste as January’s fixtures are coming thick and fast. They begin with a trip to Nottingham Forest on New Year’s Day before hosting champions Manchester City four days later. The hope was that James could be eased back into action and Potter insisted he never intended for the 23-year-old to be rushed into playing before he was fully recovered.
“The plan was not for him to play 90 tonight,” Potter said on Tuesday. “He was going to play 60-65 minutes, which was a build-up to what he did previously. He’s disappointed, of course, at the moment. We just have to hope it’s not as bad as it was, and he can get a speedier recovery.”
In a now deleted social media post, James’ personal trainer James Ralph had appeared to take aim at Chelsea, writing: “I need to bite my tongue despite having A LOT to say.”
“Reece is a world class player,” Potter added. “You see it from the outside, but it’s not until you work with him that you realise how good he is. He’s an incredible player. He would fit into any team in the world. He can play in any team in the world, so any team would miss him.”
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