Man City’s Kyle Walker hails Chelsea star as the ‘best in the world’ | Football
Manchester City captain Kyle Walker has heaped praise on Reece James, describing the Chelsea star as the ‘best right-back in the world’.
Despite struggling with reoccurring injury issues, James has established himself as one of the best defenders in the Premier League since making his first-team debut for Chelsea in September 2019.
The 24-year-old was a surprise omission from Gareth Southgate’s 33-man provisional England squad ahead of this summer’s Euros, despite the fact he only started five Premier League games this season.
And even though James will not feature in Germany this summer, Walker views the Chelsea skipper as the most ‘complete’ right-back in world football.
Asked to name the best right-back in the world, he said on the You’ll Never Beat Kyle Walker podcast: ‘Reece James.
‘He’s just got everything. Everything. If I could make the complete right-back, it would be him. He can defend, attack, he’s technical, can use both feet, he’s a threat at dead-ball situations, he’s quick…
‘I think if I was to build the perfect right back, I would go with my strength, [Achraf] Hakimi’s pace, [Joao] Cancelo’s technical ability, Trent’s [Alexander-Arnold] passing, [Dani] Carvajal’s mentality and I think Reece James’ football brain because he obviously played in midfield for a long time.
‘But if I was to round all of them up, I’d say it would be Reece. He gives you a little bit of everything.’