Jorginho names Reece James as one of the five best players in the Premier League
Arsenal midfielder Jorginho has sensationally named Chelsea right-back Reece James among the Premier League’s top five players.
Jorginho shared the pitch with James at Stamford Bridge between 2018 and 2022 before departing for London rivals Arsenal and is, therefore, well-placed to make a judgement on the defender’s abilities.
James’ talent has never been in question but the 24-year-old has suffered from numerous injury issues during his career so far, while there’s even a debate over whether he’s the best English right-back right now, with Trent Alexander-Arnold, Kyle Walker and Kieran Trippier all making a strong case.
Since the start of last season, James has been restricted to just 19 starts and 24 overall appearances in the Premier League due to various hamstring and knee issues.
Even so, in an interview with JD Football at the Puma FUTURE launch event, Jorginho picked James among his Premier League top five. Also making the list were, in no particular order, the less surprising Kevin De Bruyne and Erling Haaland of champions Manchester City, Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah and Arsenal counterpart Bukayo Saka.
The hosts were, of course, shocked at Jorginho’s pick, pushing names like Virgil van Dijk and Gunners teammates William Saliba and Martin Odegaard to him, but the Italian remained firm and also gave his reasoning as to why he thinks James is better than positional rival Alexander-Arnold.
“They are a bit different,” Jorginho said. “But if I am to choose for my team, I’d choose Reece. I think he’s more complete on everything. But Trent has these passes and shot; it’s unbelievable. They are a bit different but overall, I’d choose Reece.”
James has once again been sidelined since December with another hamstring problem and has been limited to just eight Premier League appearances this season.
The England international is understood to be recovering well from surgery and should be available for action again soon, but this weekend’s clash with Manchester City will come too quickly for his return.
