Fabrizio Romano has eased fears of a Reece James move in his exclusive column for Caughtoffside today.
He claims that the situation is “really quiet” on this front, and then gives some thoughts about what he thinks is going on.
James has had another season basically wiped out by injury, and there are now legitimate concerns about his ability to ever play regularly. It would be a strange time to sell him, and a strange time for the club captain to move – unless he thinks it’s being at Chelsea which is causing his medical issues.
It is true that the club will always be open to offers, given their FFP situation, but nobody is going to be offering anything for a player who is coming off major surgery after years of bad injuries. His Transfermarkt value is €50m and tumbling.
“I’m sure Chelsea will try to make a profit with some players, as it’s something needed because of FFP,” Romano wrote.
“But Reece has always been considered an important part of the project so all quiet on this one, full focus on recovery and total commitment on the player side.”
The rumours that James could be sold never really convinced us, and it’s no surprise to see Romano rubbish them. We will have to see where we are in a year’s time, but he’s on a long contract, he’s the captain and there will be no interest from anywhere until he’s proved his fitness. So all signs point to him sticking around for a while yet.
What we really need to find out about now is Malo Gusto’s fitness. Is he going to be ready to see out the season, or are we down to the bare bones yet again?
