Reece James leaves the England squad and returns to Chelsea
According to the Standard, Chelsea defender Reece James has left the England squad and returned to the club.
The 20-year-old was given a two-match ban by UEFA after getting himself sent off in the Nations League fixture to Denmark last month.
Despite that, he was included in Gareth Southgate’s squad that was announced last week. The decision by the English boss shows how highly he thinks of the defender.
James’ ban was only for the Nations League, leaving him free to play in international friendlies. He did just that against the Republic of Ireland earlier this week.
The Chelsea star played the whole game as the Three Lions defeated Ireland for the first time in 35 years. With his role fulfilled, he has no reason to stay behind for the matches against Belgium and Iceland.
Both fixtures are Nations League fixtures, meaning James will play no part in them, whatsoever.
Southgate had earlier expressed his hope that James would learn from his sending off against Denmark. The defender appears to have done just that. (h/t Standard)
“I will take the red card from last time and I will learn from it and move on and hopefully it will have a positive impact in the long run.”
A player who vindicates his manager’s faith in him is a reliable option to have. James has so far done just that with regards to Southgate.
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With a hectic schedule and with little downtime to negotiate, James’ sending off is a blessing for Chelsea.
This will afford the youngster a few extra days of rest before the Premier League resumes next weekend. Chelsea travel to Tyneside to face Newcastle United on 21 November.