Love of fashion, idolising Drogba & friends with Hamilton

The Football Interview is a new series in which the biggest names in sport and entertainment join host Kelly Somers for bold and in-depth conversations about the nation’s favourite sport.

We’ll talk about defining moments, career highs, and personal reflections, as well as motivation and mindset. The Football Interview brings you the person behind the player.

Reece James, who was six when he first started training with Chelsea, is now club captain. After moving through the academy and the first team, he advanced to the top.

James announced himself to the Stamford Bridge faithful in style, scoring on his debut in a 7-1 win over Grimsby Town in September 2019.

James, 25, has had a stellar career, including winning the Champions League with Chelsea in 2021, becoming the club captain in 2023, and making his England debut against Wales in 2020.

However, things have not always gone smoothly, with a series of injuries affecting him over the past four seasons.

Kelly Somers: First question: name, where you’re from, and what’s your coffee order?

Reece James: I’m Reece James; I was born and raised in Mortlake, close to Richmond, so I’m sure more people will be familiar with that area. My coffee is a flat white.

Has a flat white always been what, Kelly?

Reece: No, it started with, like, vanilla lattes and stuff.

Kelly: Let’s start with a football debate. What does football mean to you?

Reece: From a young age, it’s pretty much all I knew in school. I wasn’t the brightest kid, and I just loved playing football.

Kelly, tell us about your earliest playing days. Is this tough to answer because it was such a big part of your kind of childhood and growing up?

Reece: No, simply because I have terrible memories. My earliest memory was probably, I don’t know, going to watch my brother play. He used to play, and he’s two years my senior.

Kelly: It was big in your household, wasn’t it, because your dad was was so heavily involved? Isn’t he a football coach as well, is he? Tell me a bit about that.

Reece: We were three years old growing up. It was all football mad, and he obviously was a coach as well, and we used to train a lot with him.

Do you recall many of those discussions, Kelly? Because I read that as young as the age of four, you were outside and he was doing drills with you in the back garden.

Reece: Yes, I can recall that the drills were initially young. Thankfully, they paid off for me and my sister]Chelsea and England forward Lauren James].

Kelly, tell me about your first team as a youngster, what it was called, and what you can recall.

Reece: I don’t remember much, to be honest. In Kew, Kew Park Rangers were present. I think I was there for about a year. I was scouted there for Chelsea, from there.

Kelly: And you weren’t a defender at first, were you? Talk to me about how your positional journey changed…

Reece: I started off as a striker, and then eventually moved to the wing, left wing, right wing, and eventually to midfield, and then eventually at right-back, and I hated it at the time.

Kelly, why were you so against it?

Reece: My idol was]Didier] Drogba. Growing up, I admired Chelsea, and I admired him.

Kelly: Can you think of a turning point in your career – a moment that has shaped you and the player you have become?

Reece: Going on loan is probably what I’d say. Bridging the gap between academy and first-team football is the hardest and that is probably what most players making the jump find challenging.

Kelly, you’re obviously talking about Wigan. Why was Wigan the right club for you at the time? Why did it work so well when you knew everything in London was miles away?

Reece: The first thing is that I played week in week out, which helps. I left my friends and family and had to grow up quickly, so I gained a lot of experiences. Playing on a consistent basis helped a lot.

Kelly, who has had the biggest impact on your career?

Reece: I would say]Brazil defender] Thiago Silva. He has played at the highest level for a long time and is nearly my father. He always tried to help me from the minute he arrived and still does, even now he is not here]having left Chelsea in 2024].

Kelly: How might he assist you?

Reece: It was little messages off the pitch. Sometimes he would try to paint a different picture while playing the pitch and observe things differently than I did.

Kelly: It must have been nice to see him this summer]at the Club World Cup]?

Reece: It was great to see him again. I’m happy that his team did well in the tournament]they lost in the semi-finals to eventual winners Chelsea]. He always looks good to see him.

Kelly: If you could go back and replay one match in your career, which would you pick?

Reece: The Champions League [final] would be the outcome if it were to go the same.

Kelly: Other than winning, what was so special about that night?

Reece: Few people anticipated our victory. ]Manchester] City were favourites. They had chances, but they didn’t take them, ending the game with a score of 1-0. It is the biggest trophy in club football.

Kelly: There were many people talking about PSG and the way you won the Club World Cup, which was a similar situation…

Reece: It was another final where we were underdogs but we all believed and knew we were good enough to come out on top. We obviously demonstrated that in the game and in the outcome, in my opinion.

Kelly: What was a typical day for you and your siblings growing up?

Reece: We would leave for school. The minute we got home from school, it was kicking a ball around on the street until one of us had to go to training. The other person would be side-watching and kicking a ball around. It was like that for pretty much all of my childhood, always with a ball at my feet.

What was it like to have your sister Lauren as a sibling? Kelly It must have been so evident from a young age how good she was…

Reece: I didn’t realize how talented she was when she was younger because I didn’t see as many girls playing. She always played with me and boys and she was better than most of them. She has expanded dramatically throughout her career and is doing incredible things.

Kelly: I read she was training with the Arsenal women’s team and was then moved to the Arsenal boys ‘ academy. She mentioned that she was a football player and didn’t consider herself to be any different as a girl. That must have been something that playing with you and your brother must have really helped her with…

Reece: Yes, she was always playing with both of us, which likely contributed to her technical prowess and physicality.

Kelly: What’s your relationship like with her now?

Reece: It’s good. We live a similar life – we’re playing football at the highest level. We are sometimes close but sometimes our schedules don’t work out, making us miss each other’s games.

Kelly: Do you speak a lot and see each other a lot?

Reece: If it’s pre-season I’m not leaving the house, because I’m tired. I would actually spend the entire day in bed. If it’s in season, I’d probably go into London with my friends, see what they’re up to.

Kelly: With football being so competitive, how do you get away?

Reece: When I get home, I just try not to think too much, take things in my stride.

Kelly, you enjoy a fashion show, and fashion is a big deal to you.

Reece: I like a fashion show, yeah, depending on the time of year. I’m interested and enjoy good fashion because it’s what I like.

Kelly: How would you describe your fashion sense?

Reece: It’s much more chilly now. A few years ago, it was a bit more edgy.

Kelly, does that depend on getting older?

Reece: Maybe boredom!

Kelly, what would your friends say about you? You come across super laid back. Do they concur with each other?

Reece: Most of the time, yeah. I also have a sharper side. Not everything goes my way. They sometimes notice that I’m not in the mood more than anyone else.

Kelly: Has your personality changed as you’ve got older and everything you’ve gone through?

Reece: I really like that. I’ve had a lot of disappointment, setbacks. That alters how you think and interpret the world.

Kelly: Do you think becoming a captain has changed you as well?

Reece: Yes, it has benefited me because it has allowed me to develop. I need to help the younger team-mates and try and improve them as players and as people.

Kelly, what would you say about your team-mates?

Reece: Why don’t we pull one of them in! That would be a little simpler. They’d probably say I’m chilled as well.

Kelly, I saw you play, but you’re not chilled out on the field. It seems like there is a very different Reece James sitting here to Reece James the captain.

Reece: I’m not sure what happens. It’s all or nothing on the pitch, and then off the pitch it’s like whatever happens, happens.

Kelly, Lewis Hamilton congratulated you on his friendship with you. It wasn’t sent from someone just observing, it was from someone that clearly knows you. Talk to me about how we are connected to him.

Reece: We’re reasonably close. He is undoubtedly the best Formula 1 driver to have ever lived. I know we play different sports, but there are many similarities. Because he has been at a high level for longer and has gone through more, he makes an effort to assist me wherever he can when I’m going through challenging spells.

Kelly: How did you get to know each other?

Reece: We’ve been in contact ever since, thanks to a mutual friend.

Kelly: What are you most proud of?

Reece: Probably the club’s trophy collection.

Kelly: Any one in particular?

Reece: I wouldn’t pick because they all play a significant part in the ensemble.

Kelly: Tell me something that people get wrong about you the most.

Reece: To be honest, I don’t know. A lot of people say a lot of stuff. Everyone has their own opinions, but I don’t really care. I don’t know if I see anything, I’m not really paying attention anyway.

Kelly, what would you like to accomplish with your career if you could only accomplish one thing?