Former player Emmanuel Petit has urged Chelsea’s next coach to strip right-back Reece James of the captaincy.

Reece James was appointed Chelsea captain ahead of the 2023/24 season but has endured a disappointing campaign, with injuries limiting him to just 11 appearances in all competitions. Emmanuel Petit, who spent 3 years playing football for Chelsea, said that James did not play enough in the past two seasons and said that Chelsea’s new coach needs to find a new captain next season.

He said:

“We all know James is a great player and we always pray that he plays as much as possible. However, how many games has he played in the last two years? You can’t be captain when you miss the majority of games – it reminds me of Abou Diaby at Arsenal when you could never rely on him because of unfortunate injuries.

Conor Gallagher should be the club’s captain, that certainly needs to be considered by the new manager. Gallagher is an icon on the field and plays every game so it has to be him.”

Chelsea are advised to strip Reece James of the captaincy

Conor Gallagher has made 39 appearances for Chelsea this season, often wearing the captain’s armband when James is absent. Chelsea are still looking for a new coach after Mauricio Pochettino agreed to leave after just 11 months.

James was removed from the preliminary list of 33 players of the England team for Euro 2024, and he recently apologized to Pochettino for having to take too much time off.