Everton have been dealt a blow in their pursuit of Chelsea defender Reece James, with the Blues set to announce that he has agreed to a sign a new deal.
The Toffees were interested in the highly regarded right-back in the summer, and had looked to reignite that interest during the January window.
Described by Darren Bent as “just as good” as Liverpool’s heavily lauded full-back Trent Alexander-Arnold (via Express Sport), James’ contract was set to expire in 2022, however he now appears set to put pen to paper on a bumper five-year contract.
That is according to Football Insider, who claim that Everton had hoped to close a deal on James, having already missed out on Chelsea defensive duo Kurt Zouma and Fikayo Tomori in the summer.
The 20-year old has made rapid growth over the past 18-months, having starred for Wigan in the Championship last season, coming straight back into Frank Lampard’s senior squad and impressing.
Read Everton Verdict
Reece James has impressed for the Blues to the degree that it was always going to be a hard sell to convince Chelsea into letting him go.
James has played ten times in the Premier League this season, assisting on one occasion, and that number is sure to increase as the season goes on with Lampard clearly a big fan of the defender.
Everton currently have Seamus Coleman, Djibril Sidibe and the soon-to-be returning Jonjoe Kenny who currently occupy the right-back position, so James doesn’t immediately seem that important. However, as someone who can also play right midfield comfortably too, he could have brought so much needed quality to the squad.
Still, it looks as though a deal won’t happen, which is fine. Everton need to prioritise a centre-back and a central midfielder, and losing out on James cannot be considered a major loss at this point.
Comments.
Loading comments…