I told him from the beginning — Maresca explains plan to change position on injury-prone Chelsea captain

Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca has revealed that he has always planned to feature Reece James in midfield, after the England international shone in the position during the Conference League clash against Copenhagen. 

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James returned to the starting line-up for Chelsea in their trip to Denmark, and to the surprise of many, James started in midfield, with Trevor Chalobah taking the right back spot. 

The 25-year-old excelled in the position, scoring the opener in the match, a long-range screamer. After the match, Maresca praised James's performance and revealed he had always envisaged the Chelsea captain in a midfield role. 

"So, you can ask Reece; when I signed with Chelsea, probably the day after, I sent him a video about seeing him as a midfielder,” Maresca said, per Goal. 

“I see Reece as a midfielder, not now—since day one, before I met him for the first time, he was on holiday. I sent him a clip about him playing as a midfielder.

"I mentioned Reece playing as a midfielder a long time ago. He is playing there now, but the good thing is he played this year already as a full-back, as a centre-back and in the central midfielder. The main target for us is to help him be fit all season."