Chelsea star Reece James has been heavily linked with a move to Real Madrid (Picture: Getty)
Mauricio Pochettino, Todd Boehly and the Chelsea board are in agreement that Reece James is a vital player and they have no interest in selling him to Real Madrid despite their desire to sign him, according to reports.
Chelsea captain James has been heavily linked with a switch to the Spanish capital for a while with Real Madrid boss Carlo Ancelotti viewing him as the successor to Dani Carvajal.
Real Madrid’s scouts were said to be impressed with James’ performances when the La Liga side played Chelsea in the last eight of the Champions League in April 2022.
Despite James signing a contract extension with Chelsea until 2028 since then, Spanish outlet Sport claimed earlier this season that Real Madrid have not given up on trying to lure in the England international right-back.
But according to new reports, Chelsea will not be tempted into a sale, with the entire club in agreement that James an important part of Pochettino’s project.
Chelsea believe that the 23-year-old, who came through the club’s academy, still has a lot of potential and can get even better than he is now.
It is also reported that Chelsea view James’ injury problems as ‘unlucky’ and the fact that he is English is also thought to be a key factor in their desire to keep him.
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James has missed the majority of the 2023-24 campaign with a hamstring problem he picked up on the opening day of the season but made his return in the 2-2 draw against Arsenal on October 21, playing the last six minutes.
He featured for 23 minutes in Chelsea’s most recent Premier League match, a 2-0 home defeat to Brentford, and started the 2-0 Carabao Cup win over Blackburn on Wednesday, getting 61 minutes under his belt.
Chelsea travel to Tottenham on Monday night and asked if James was ready to feature for the full match, Pochettino said: ‘I don’t know. We’ll see. We’ll see if he’s available. It was good for him to start a game after a few months, he’s a very important player.’
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