Maresca: ‘Expected more’ from captain James

Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca has said the club’s dressing room lacks a “proper leader” and has been left “expecting more” from captain Reece James this season.

James returned from another lengthy hamstring injury layoff to make his first start of the season in the defeat against Liverpool last weekend — his first competitive appearance under Maresca.

When asked on Friday how James helped command the team during his time out injured, Maresca told reporters: “He is on the way, he’s doing well, he’s progressing, but from Reece, I expected more also in terms of leadership.

“Most of the time when they are captain, they think that because they are captain they have more, ‘because I am the captain, I expect that you give me more’. For me, because you are the captain you have to give more. You have to give more than the rest. And sometimes it’s, ‘OK, I am the captain I can give less’, no.

“He’s one of the captains and I expected from him, and his teammates expected from him, to give always more in terms of leadership in general.”

James has made 159 appearances for Chelsea since graduating from the club’s academy and making his senior debut in 2019.

He was made club captain under Chelsea’s previous boss, Mauricio Pochettino, in August 2023.

“He [James] is a reserved guy, but not only him,” Maresca added. “I think we don’t have a proper leader. We don’t have those guys. Probably Tosin [Adarabioyo] is one of the guys that is. So the rest we need to build them.”

Chelsea have begun the season with four wins from eight games in the Premier League. They face Newcastle on Sunday.