{"id":17435,"date":"2026-07-15T01:12:43","date_gmt":"2026-07-15T01:12:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/?p=17435"},"modified":"2026-07-15T01:12:43","modified_gmt":"2026-07-15T01:12:43","slug":"xabi-alonso-confirms-reece-james-will-remain-chelsea-captain-read-chelsea-f-c","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/?p=17435","title":{"rendered":"Xabi Alonso confirms Reece James will remain Chelsea captain &#8211; Read Chelsea F.C."},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Xabi Alonso has confirmed that Reece James will remain Chelsea captain during his first season in charge at Stamford Bridge.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">James has worn the armband since Mauricio Pochettino appointed him in August 2023. Alonso has now ended any uncertainty surrounding the leadership of his new-look squad.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Speaking to Sky Sports News, the Chelsea head coach praised James\u2019 versatility, delivery and ability from set-pieces.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cHe has blue DNA, which is very important, and we transmit that to the whole team and new players,\u201d Alonso said. \u201cHe\u2019s going to be the captain.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The full Sky Sports interview also featured Alonso\u2019s desire to keep Enzo Fern\u00e1ndez and his plans for Chelsea\u2019s returning internationals.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-x wp-block-embed-x\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">\ud83d\udea8 Reece James is to remain Chelsea Captain, confirms Xabi Alonso. <\/p>\n<p>He said: \u201cHe can do everything, he attack from inside or outside. He can deliver, he&#8217;s good at set-pieces, he has blue DNA, which is very important, and we transmit that to the whole team and new players. He&#8217;s\u2026 <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/zzaW6juu7U\">pic.twitter.com\/zzaW6juu7U<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Pys (@CFCPys) July 14, 2026<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">James gives Alonso a natural dressing-room leader<\/h2>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">James\u2019 importance extends beyond his ability at right-back.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The 26-year-old came through Chelsea\u2019s academy and understands the standards expected around the club. That experience could prove valuable as Alonso integrates another group of new signings.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">ReadChelsea previously reported that James had already held early talks with Alonso before the Spaniard officially began work. The captain described himself as excited by the appointment and ready for the next phase.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Alonso also highlighted James\u2019 tactical flexibility. He believes the defender can attack from inside or outside, deliver from wide areas and influence matches through set-pieces.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">His availability will remain important after several injury-disrupted seasons. James made 39 appearances for Chelsea last term and has since returned from a hamstring issue during England\u2019s World Cup campaign.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Keeping the captaincy gives James a clear role within Alonso\u2019s rebuild.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Chelsea\u2019s squad may continue to change before the transfer window closes, but the new manager has chosen an academy graduate to lead it.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><script async src=\"\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><br \/>\n<br \/><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Xabi Alonso has confirmed that Reece James will remain Chelsea captain during his first season&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":17436,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"pagelayer_contact_templates":[],"_pagelayer_content":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-17435","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-chelsea"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17435","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=17435"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17435\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/17436"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=17435"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=17435"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=17435"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}