The equations in life change fast and in FPL, faster. Once a template pick, Chelsea captain (he hardly gets the chance to wear the armband these days) Reece James is now owned by only 0.2% of the managers in fantasy football.
The last two years have been hurtful. And he couldn’t do enough to get the heartful enthusiasm from the Chelsea loyalists.
However, it needed one moment. One moment of glory that can be etched with the ‘Special One’ stamp. As they say, cometh the hour, cometh the man.
It was deep, deep into the stoppage time at Stamford Bridge. Despite being a midweek fixture, there were enough supporters with the panic mode on. The Blues were trailing by 1-2 against Bournemouth at home with time ticking away, in a match which saw them take an early lead.
With Chelsea’s midfield heartthrob and dead-ball man, Cole Palmer (who is now a major doubt for the Wolves game) standing next to him, not many expected James to take the free-kick in the 95th minute of the match. But after doing a quick recce, Recce delivered. And there was ‘goal’ written all over it. His first goal in two-and-a-half years!
He made Stamford Bridge look like a reverse Maracana of 1950. The gallery exploded! And there were chants along with fan songs about him — “Reece James! He’s one of our own!”
It seemed like a renaissance. ‘Did we just see the rebirth of Reece James?’ was the question which parked the bus in the air of West London.
In Fantasy Premier League 2024-25, James missed the first eight gameweeks. Then he went on to play a-full-ninety-minutes against Newcastle United and Manchester United in gameweeks nine and ten.
But after featuring for just eight minutes, he had to be taken off against Arsenal in GW11. What followed next was another long-absence of eight gameweeks.
Therefore, the thought becomes quite pertinent that if this is an Undertakeresque return? The man arrives from the dark, delivers and then is put back on the casket again.
Or, this is really the return of the England international. Reece James is back. See, his 34-minute appearance against Bournemouth showed enough promise of a sustainable return with serious attacking threats.
An acquisition of James in FPL would currently cost you £4.8m. That’s way less than what the premium defenders draw in Fantasy Football League 2024-25.
James looked sharp and should start Chelsea’s upcoming plum fixture against Wolves at home, the only remaining match of the ongoing GW22. In the next twelve encounters following the Wolves game, Chelsea has only two major hurdles — Manchester City and Arsenal.
During this period, Maresca’s men will face a lot of struggling teams like West Ham, Southampton, Leicester, Ipswich, and Everton. And guess what? All of these are home games! Doubles the fun and also doubles the points, at least on paper.
Hence, James has a great chance to grab more than a handful of clean sheets. If he stays fit, which he looks at the moment, Reece will be a nailed-on starter for the Blues.
Moreover, James will be on set-pieces again, especially after his injury-time strike salvaged a draw for Chelsea in the last gameweek. He can unleash overlapping runs on the flanks, accompanied with inch-perfect deliveries.
Therefore, the prospect of a triple up on points — clean sheets, assists, and even goals! Reece James can be a long-term fix for your fantasy defence. However, we need to have a close look on how he fares against Wolves tonight and how his minutes are managed by Maresca after such a long injury. So, you also do one last recce on Recce James before handing him an FPL contract.
