Darren Bent claimed Chelsea defender Reece James was just as good as Liverpool first-teamer Trent Alexander-Arnold on the ball.
The Sky Sports pundit gushed about the Chelsea right-back who is struggling to oust Cesar Azpilicueta from the first-team and named dropped Alexander-Arnold in order to justify how highly he rates the 19-year-old.
Bent also added that with James and Alexander-Arnold both being English, then there was going to be some fight over the next 10-years to be England’s No.1 right-back.
“I’m such a big fan of this kid, it’s crazy,” said the pundit on talkSPORT, as quoted by the broadcaster website.
“The unfortunate thing is that the person who plays in the same position as him is the captain, but you can tell Lampard is desperate to get him in now and play him because he’s ready to go.
“You look at his technical ability on the ball, I think he’s just as good as Trent.
“His passing and distribution is just as good.
“He’s a big powerful kid as well, he’s not slight, he’s strong, he’s built, he’s massive.
“I think that right-back position for England at the moment is unbelievable. It’s going to be some fight over the next ten years for that position.
“But as far as Chelsea go, Reece James, Fikayo Tomori, Mason Mount, Tammy Abraham, they’re all young and they’re all playing really well.
“It’s a really exciting time to be a Chelsea fan.”
OPINION
With James still on the fringes of Chelsea’s squad, then it’s hard to see the 19-year-old as being on Alexander-Arnold’s level, but Bent may be right to suggest that both are on the same level when it comes to their ability on the ball. The difference is Alexander-Arnold has proved his ability on the biggest stages time after time, whereas James hasn’t. The Chelsea defender has managed to play just 117 minutes of Premier League action across four league outings this season, as per Transfermarkt, and only completed 90 minutes for the first time in England’s top-flight on Saturday in the 2-0 win over Crystal Palace. In comparison, Alexander-Arnold has played every minute of the Reds’ Premier League campaign so far and has even chipped in a goal as well as racked up three assists in the process to help his side sit top of the table. So with that mind, Bent’s claim will raise a few eyebrows as maybe he should wait to see how James develops before comparing him to someone who is constantly delivering the goods.
