Reece James (born 8 December 1999) is an English professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

who plays as a

right-back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either s ...

for club

Chelsea Chelsea or Chelsey may refer to: Places Australia * Chelsea, Victoria Canada * Chelsea, Nova Scotia * Chelsea, Quebec United Kingdom * Chelsea, London, an area of London, bounded to the south by the River Thames ** Chelsea (UK Parliament consti ...

and the England national team. James joined the Chelsea academy as a youth and turned professional in 2017, a season where he captained the under-18s to victory in the

FA Youth Cup The Football Association Youth Challenge Cup is an English football competition run by The Football Association for under-18 sides. Only those players between the age of 15 and 18 on 31 August of the current season are eligible to take part. It ...

and was named Academy Player of the Season. A productive

loan In finance, a loan is the lending of money by one or more individuals, organizations, or other entities to other individuals, organizations, etc. The recipient (i.e., the borrower) incurs a debt and is usually liable to pay interest on that d ...

spell with

Wigan Athletic Wigan Athletic Football Club () is an English professional association football club based in Wigan, Greater Manchester, England. The team competes in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1932, ...

of the

Championship In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this system ...

saw him promoted to the Chelsea first team upon his return in 2019. After representing

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

at various youth levels, James was called up to the full international side for the first time in October 2020, earning his first cap against

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

Early life

James was born in Redbridge, Greater London, and attended

Isleworth and Syon School Isleworth & Syon School (formerly Isleworth Grammar School) is a non-denomination secondary school and sixth form for boys aged 11 to 18 years old. Girls are admitted to the school's sixth form, which is part of a consortium with other secondar ...

. He is from a family all involved in football. His sister

Lauren Lauren may be a given name or surname.The name's meaning may be "laurel tree", "sweet of honor", or "wisdom". It is derived from the French name Laurence, a feminine version of Laurent, which is in turn derived from the Roman surname Laurentius. ...

is also a professional footballer and signed for Chelsea Women in July 2021. Their father Nigel is a football coach. He is of Jamaican descent through his father.

Club career

Early career

Starting his grassroots playing career at Kew Park Rangers and Epsom Eagles (where

Conor Gallagher Conor John Gallagher (born 6 February 2000) is an English professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Premier League club Chelsea and the England national team. Beginning his career with Chelsea, Gallagher spent time on loan at EFL ...

was also one of his team mates), James signed with

at the age of eight, and had a short spell at West London rivals

Fulham Fulham () is an area of the London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham in West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It lies on the north bank of the River Thames, bordering Hammersmith, Kensington and Chelsea. The area faces Wandsworth ...

when he was seven. He played as a striker idolizing

Didier Drogba Didier Yves Drogba Tébily (; born 11 March 1978) is an Ivorian retired professional footballer who played as a striker. He is the all-time top scorer and former captain of the Ivory Coast national team. He is best known for his career at ...

in his early teens, but was moved to the midfield, and later to a right-back position where he struggled at first. He turned professional with Chelsea in March 2017. During the 2017–18 season he captained the under-18s to win the

and was named Academy Player of the Season. He signed a new four-year contract with the club in June 2018. In June 2018, James joined

club

for the 2018–19 season. He made his first-team debut on 4 August, starting in Wigan's first game of the season, helping his side to a 3–2 home victory over

Sheffield Wednesday Sheffield Wednesday Football Club is a professional association football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. The team competes in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. Formed in 1867 as an offshoot of ...

. He scored his first goal for Wigan on 4 November, scoring the first goal with a

free kick A free kick is an action used in several codes of football to restart play with the kicking of a ball into the field of play. Association football In association football, the free kick is a method of restarting the game following an offence ...

in the sixth minute of a 2–1 home loss to

Leeds United Leeds United Football Club is a professional football club based in Leeds, West Yorkshire in England. The club competes in the Premier League, the highest level of England's football league system, and plays its home matches at Elland Road S ...

. In March 2019, he was selected to the 2018–19 Championship Team of the Season. He won three awards at Wigan Athletic's end of season awards, including Player of the Year.

2019–2021: First-team breakthrough and UEFA Champions League title

On 25 September 2019, James made his debut for Chelsea after returning from injury. He scored his first goal and assisted two in a 7–1 win over

Grimsby Town Grimsby Town Football Club is a professional football club based in Cleethorpes, North East Lincolnshire, England, that in the 2022–23 season will compete in , the fourth tier of the English football league system, following the victory in ...

in the third round of the 2019–20 EFL Cup. James became Chelsea's youngest ever goalscorer in the

UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (abbreviated as UCL, or sometimes, UEFA CL) is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and contested by top-division European clubs, deciding the competit ...

when he scored the fourth goal of their 4–4 comeback draw with

Ajax Ajax may refer to: Greek mythology and tragedy * Ajax the Great, a Greek mythological hero, son of King Telamon and Periboea * Ajax the Lesser, a Greek mythological hero, son of Oileus, the king of Locris * ''Ajax'' (play), by the ancient Greek ...

on 5 November. He signed a long-term contract extension with Chelsea on 16 January 2020. On 14 September 2020, James scored his first

Premier League The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Foo ...

goal, in a 3–1 win for Chelsea against

Brighton & Hove Albion Brighton & Hove Albion Football Club (), commonly referred to simply as Brighton, is an English professional football club based in the city of Brighton and Hove. They compete in the Premier League, the top tier of the English football league ...

. On 5 December, James made his 50th appearance for Chelsea in all competitions in the club's 3–1 league win over Leeds United. In January 2021, James was subject to racist abuse online. In March, he deleted his

Instagram Instagram is a photo and video sharing social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. The app allows users to upload media that can be edited with filters and organized by hashtags and geographical tagging. Posts can ...

account in response to the abuse he received. On 29 May, James won his first-ever Champions League as Chelsea won 1–0 against

Manchester City Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The tw ...

in the

final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event ** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of cont ...

Porto Porto or Oporto () is the second-largest city in Portugal, the capital of the Porto District, and one of the Iberian Peninsula's major urban areas. Porto city proper, which is the entire municipality of Porto, is small compared to its metropol ...

2021–present

On 28 August 2021, James was sent off at the end of the first half of a 1–1 draw against

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...

due to a handball incident. He scored two goals in the second half of a 3–0 win over

Newcastle United Newcastle United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Newcastle upon Tyne, that plays in the Premier League – the top flight of English football. The club was founded in 1892 by the merger of Newcastle East End ...

St James' Park St James' Park is a football stadium in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. It is the home of Premier League club Newcastle United F.C. With a seating capacity of 52,305 seats, it is the eighth largest football stadium in England. St James' Park ...

on 30 October. At the end of the season James was nominated for the

PFA Young Player of the Year The Professional Footballers' Association Young Player of the Year (often called the PFA Young Player of the Year, or simply the Young Player of the Year) is an annual award given to the young player who is adjudged to have been the best of the s ...

award. On 5 September 2022, James signed a new six-year contract with Chelsea, committing to the club until June 2028. His performances were praised in October 2022, although later that month he suffered a knee injury, and had to see a specialist doctor. He was injured on his first game back, on 27 December 2022, being substituted after 53 minutes. he was ruled out of play for a further four weeks.

International career

Youth

James has represented England at youth level from under-18 up to under-21. In May 2017, James was included in the under-20 squad for the

2017 Toulon Tournament The 2017 Toulon Tournament (officially french: 45ème Festival International "Espoirs" – Tournoi Maurice Revello) was the 45th edition of the Toulon Tournament. The tournament was named after Maurice Revello, who started the tournament in 1967 a ...

. He started in the final as England beat the

Ivory Coast Ivory Coast, also known as Côte d'Ivoire, officially the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire, is a country on the southern coast of West Africa. Its capital is Yamoussoukro, in the centre of the country, while its largest city and economic centre is ...

to retain their title. In July, James was part of the under-19 squad that won the 2017 UEFA European Under-19 Championship. He started in the semi-final against the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...

. James was a member of the under-20 squad that travelled to the

2019 Toulon Tournament The 2019 Toulon Tournament (officially french: 47ème Festival International "Espoirs" – Tournoi Maurice Revello) was the 47th edition of the Toulon Tournament. It was held in the department of Bouches-du-Rhône from 1 to 15 June 2019. England w ...

and was carried off on a stretcher with ankle ligament damage during the first half of the final group game defeat to Chile on 7 June 2019. On 4 October, James was included in the under-21 squad for the first time. He made his under-21 debut during the 3–0 2021 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualification victory away to

Albania Albania ( ; sq, Shqipëri or ), or , also or . officially the Republic of Albania ( sq, Republika e Shqipërisë), is a country in Southeastern Europe. It is located on the Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea and shares ...

on 15 November.

Senior

On 5 October 2020, James was called up for the first time to the senior team by manager

Gareth Southgate Gareth Southgate (born 3 September 1970) is an English professional football manager and former player who played as a defender and midfielder. He has been the manager of the England national team since 2016. Southgate won the League Cup ...

following an injury to

Raheem Sterling Raheem Shaquille Sterling (born 8 December 1994) is a professional footballer who plays as a winger and attacking midfielder for club Chelsea. Born in Jamaica, he represents the England national team. Born in Jamaica to Jamaican parents, St ...

. He made his debut on 8 October at

Wembley Stadium Wembley Stadium (branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE for sponsorship reasons) is a football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the Wembley Stadium (1923), original Wembley Stadium, which was demolished from 200 ...

, coming on as a 58th-minute substitute for

Kieran Trippier Kieran John Trippier (; born 19 September 1990) is an English professional footballer who plays as a right-back for club Newcastle United and the England national team. Trippier started his career in the youth system at Manchester City but ...

in a 3–0 win over

. He was sent off for dissent after the final whistle in his second start, against

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark ...

. James was named in the 26-man England squad for

Euro 2020 The 2020 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2020 (stylised as UEFA EURO 2020) or simply Euro 2020, was the 16th UEFA European Championship, the quadrennial international men's football championship of Europe ...

. At Euro 2020, James started in the 0–0 draw against

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

. In November 2021, he said that he was in the best form of his career, and that he hoped to become England's first-choice right-back. In October 2022, following a knee injury sustained playing for Chelsea in the Champions League against

AC Milan Associazione Calcio Milan (), commonly referred to as AC Milan or simply Milan, is a professional football club in Milan, Italy, founded in 1899. The club has spent its entire history, with the exception of the 1980–81 and 1982–83 seasons ...

, James was ruled out of the

2022 FIFA World Cup The 2022 FIFA World Cup is an international association football, football tournament contested by the men's national teams of FIFA's member associations. The 22nd FIFA World Cup is taking place in Qatar from 20 November to 18 December 2022 ...

. He later stated he was "devastated" to be excluded from the England squad.

Personal life

In August 2020, James made a personal donation and posted a link on his social media accounts to a Crowdfunder site which was looking to boost Wigan's funds; in a bid to save his former loan club. He wrote in the post 'Come on let's help @laticsofficial out' in a bid to encourage others to follow. In January 2021,

Marcus Rashford Marcus Rashford (born 31 October 1997) is an English professional footballer who plays as a forward for club Manchester United and the England national team. Considered one of the best players in the world, he is known for his explosive ath ...

praised James along with his fellow teammate

Mason Mount Mason Tony Mount (born 10 January 1999) is an English professional footballer who plays as an attacking or central midfielder for club Chelsea and the England national team. Mount began his senior club career with Chelsea, and joined Vite ...

for their "amazing" charitable work. James had spent the past 18 months volunteering with a London-based charity,

The Felix Project Felix Project is a United Kingdom charitable organization that saves surplus food from suppliers and redistributes it to charities. It has the dual aim to help reduce food surplus. The Waste & Resources Action Programme (abbr. WRAP) estimate that 1 ...

. James credits his father, Nigel James, Chelsea youth team coaches Frank O'Brien, Joe Edwards, and

Jody Morris Jody Steven Morris (born 22 December 1978) is an English professional football coach and former player. As a midfielder, Morris played for Chelsea, Leeds United, Rotherham United, Millwall, St Johnstone and Bristol City. He won several troph ...

as having major influence on his career.

Style of play

His former manager at Chelsea,

Thomas Tuchel Thomas Tuchel (; born 29 August 1973) is a German professional football manager and former player who last managed Premier League club Chelsea. Born in Krumbach, Tuchel retired at age 25 after a chronic knee cartilage injury; in 2000, he b ...

, described him as "strong and influential" during an interview with Chelsea TV. He had a wing-back partnership with

Ben Chilwell Benjamin James Chilwell (born 21 December 1996) is an English professional footballer who plays as a left-back for club Chelsea and the England national team. Beginning his career at Leicester City, Chilwell had a loan spell with Huddersfie ...

at both club and international level.

Career statistics

Club

International

Honours

Chelsea U18 * U18 Premier League: 2016–17, 2017–18 *

: 2016–17, 2017–18 Chelsea *

2020–21 The dash is a punctuation mark consisting of a long horizontal line. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the baseline. The most common versions are the endash , generally longer than the hyphen b ...

UEFA Super Cup The UEFA Super Cup is an annual super cup football match organised by UEFA and contested by the winners of the two main European club competitions; the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League. The competition's official name was originall ...

2021 File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the 2021 Myanmar coup d'état, coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October–November 2021 ...

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...

runner-up: 2019–20,

, 2021–22 *

EFL Cup The EFL Cup (referred to historically, and colloquially, as the League Cup), currently known as the Carabao Cup for sponsorship reasons, is an annual knockout competition and major trophy in men's domestic football in England. Organised by the ...

runner-up: 2021–22 England U19 *

UEFA European Under-19 Championship The UEFA European Under-19 Championship, or simply UEFA Under-19 Championship or the UEFA Euro U-19, is an annual football competition contested by the European men's under-19 national teams of the member associations of UEFA. Spain and England ...

2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a ser ...

England U20 *

Toulon Tournament The Toulon Tournament (officially the Festival International "Espoirs" – Tournoi Maurice Revello) is a football (training match) tournament, which traditionally features invited national teams composed of youth players from U-17 to U-23 level. ...

England *

UEFA European Championship The UEFA European Football Championship, less formally the European Championship and informally the Euro, is the primary association football tournament organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA). The competition is contes ...

runner-up:

2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, COVID- ...

Individual *

Best XI:

* Chelsea Academy Player of the Year: 2017–18 * Wigan Athletic Player of the Year: 2018–19 *Wigan Athletic Player's Player of the Year: 2018–19 *Wigan Athletic Goal of the Season: 2018–19 *FA Cup Team of the Year: 2020–21 *PFA Community Champion Award: 2020–21

References

External links

Profile
at the Chelsea F.C. website
Profile
at the Football Association website * {{DEFAULTSORT:James, Reece 1999 births Living people Footballers from the London Borough of Redbridge English footballers Association football defenders Fulham F.C. players Chelsea F.C. players Wigan Athletic F.C. players English Football League players Premier League players FA Cup Final players UEFA Champions League winning players England youth international footballers England under-21 international footballers England international footballers UEFA Euro 2020 players Black British sportsmen English sportspeople of Jamaican descent