Kyle Walker, Reece James. (X)
The Manchester City defender then explained his decision by saying that the Chelsea star was good in a variety of different situations, making him a complete full-back.
Manchester City star Kyle Walker has made his choice for the best right-back in a recent interview. Speaking to a BBC podcast, the Manchester City defender was asked to name the best right-back other than himself.
Walker paused for a few seconds before naming Chelsea captain Reece James as one of the best in the position. “Reece James. He’s just got everything.” Walker said. The Manchester City defender then explained his decision by saying that the Chelsea star was good in a variety of different situations, making him a complete full-back.
“If I can make the complete right-back, it would be him. Defence, attack, technically, both feet you know, deadball situations, quick,” Walker said in the podcast.
Walker then talked about how he would take specific skills from different right-back stars to create a complete player for the position. He named a few footballers from different clubs including Barcelona’s Joao Cancelo, Paris Saint-Germain’s Achraf Hakimi, Liverpool’s Trent Alexander Arnold and Real Madrid’s Dani Carvajal. He said, “I think, if I was to build one, I’d go for my pace, or my strength in fact, Hakimi’s pace, Cancelo’s technical ability, Trent’s passing, probably Carvajal’s mentality and I think Reece James’ football brain because he played in midfield for a long time.”
Having named the other football stars in the podcast, Walker concluded by saying that if he wanted a little bit of everything then he would just go with Reece James. “But if I was to round all of them up in one, I’d say it’d be Reece. So he gives you a little bit of everything,” Walker said.
The high praise for James should not come as a surprise to most football fans. The Chelsea full-back is a product of the club’s academy and rose through the ranks to make the senior team in 2019. He missed the majority of his first season due to a hamstring issue. Aside from his fitness problems, James has constantly been in the top five right-backs in the world since his debut in September 2019. He has made 158 appearances for his club, scoring 11 goals and providing 22 assists. James has won three trophies with The Blues including the UEFA Champions League, Super Cup and the FIFA Club World Cup in 2021. He has finished runner-up in the FA Cup thrice from 2020-22 and the EFL Cup once in 2022 with Chelsea.