Thomas Tuchel clashes with Enzo Maresca over Reece James position

England manager Thomas Tuchel has become the latest figure to question Enzo Maresca's decision to use Reece James in midfield.

James, deployed in the right-back role in which he dazzled under Tuchel at Chelsea, netted a glorious free kick to inspire a 3-0 victory over Latvia on Monday, impressing in a hybrid role which gifted him a handful of opportunities to drift across the pitch.

Being used in his favoured position has been a rarity for James in recent weeks as Blues manager Enzo Maresca has publicly insisted he sees the club captain as more of a midfielder than a right-back. Legendary former centre-back John Terry has publicly challenged that verdict.

After the Latvia game, Tuchel acknowledged James' immense technical ability but, like Terry, insisted he should remain at right-back.

Asked whether he ever considered using James in midfield at Chelsea, Tuchel said: "Very, very rarely with Chelsea. If you play a dominant match like today he can be in the last 20 minutes a hybrid midfielder where he comes from the left or right full-back position and helps in midfield to create an overload because he has the quality on the ball to accelerate with his passes, to play chip balls, to switch sides.

"He's very confident. If it's an open game and there are a lot of transitions through midfield, I'm not so sure if it would suit him perfectly.

"There cannot be any doubt about Reece's quality in itself. It's the highest level. We have been in close contact in the last few weeks and were sure that he trained for weeks. When he didn't play it was the choice of the club to protect him. We knew he was in good shape."

James, who has missed a total of 50 games across the last 18 months due to injury, insisted he had no preference when it comes to his position and he was simply happy to be back on the pitch.

"Football is football to me," he said.

"As I said, I've been sidelined for so long. If I play midfield, if I play right-back, I have a job to do to try and help the team and perform to the best of my ability."

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