Ferdinand claims Chelsea star ‘doesn’t get recognition he deserves’

Rio Ferdinand has singled out Chelsea defender Reece James as a ‘fantastic modern day footballer’.

James has been excellent for the Blues in recent seasons and has made 27 appearances across all competitions this term.

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His campaign has unfortunately been hindered by injuries. The England right-back has only played twice in the Premier League in 2022.

Ferdinand has waxed lyrical about James, saying that he is “right up there with” Liverpool’s Trent Alexander-Arnold.

“Reece James… what a fantastic footballer. He’s the modern day footballer,” Ferdinand said on BT Sport (via Metro).

“We talk about Trent Alexander-Arnold, he’s right up there with him, you can’t split them really.

On this day in 2019…

Reece James scored this worldie for Wigan @reecejames_24 #WAFC

pic.twitter.com/rdHmclJNLh

— The Second Tier (@secondtierpod) April 6, 2022

“They bring so much to the game. I think Reece will bring more goals but the passing, seriously, he doesn’t even get the recognition he deserves for his passing.

“He’s got every club in the bag as well and once he gets into these areas [in the box] he can be devastating. I think he’s got that physicality as well, he controls that right hand side now and he owns it.

“His confidence is very different to when he first joined the team which is understandable.

“When I was a player I wanted the team to miss me if I didn’t play. He’s in that boat, he’s in that place now where if he doesn’t play you notice a big difference in the team and the level drops slightly.”

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