Man City may struggle to sign Chelsea FC star Reece James this summer, claims journalist
ESPN journalist Julien Laurens gives his thoughts on reports linking Man City with Chelsea FC's Reece James
Manchester City may find it difficult to sign Reece James this summer if they hold a genuine interest in the Chelsea FC full-back, according to journalist Julien Laurens.
Reports in the British media in recent days have suggested that the Citizens hold an interest in landing the Chelsea FC star following his recent impressive performances for the Blues.
According to the recent stories, Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola is a huge admirer of the England international and would like to bring him to The Etihad.
James enjoyed something of a breakthrough season at Chelsea FC last term, initially under Frank Lampard and then under new boss Thomas Tuchel.
The 21-year-old scored one goal and made two assists in 32 Premier League games for the Blues and also featured 10 times in Europe to help Chelsea FC to win the Champions League title.
It remains to be seen whether Manchester City will make a concrete move to sign James – and ESPN journalist Laurens has now questioned whether the Citizens would be able to orchestrate a switch for the full-back this summer.
Speaking to ESPN FC on 25 June, Laurens said: “It’s very interesting. We know Pep Guardiola likes Reece James a lot. Who doesn’t? He’s a fantastic talent.
“We talked about [Jack] Grealish and [Harry] Kane [joining Man City] in the last few days and explained FFP this summer would be loose. There is a point where you can’t spend half a billion on players because that would be too much.
“If Man City sign Grealish and Kane, I’m not sure how much they will have left to sign James because he will be expensive.
“The thing we can say about Reece James is that sister [Lauren] plays for Manchester United’s women’s team. Maybe the two being in the same city would like that idea.
“If you’re Reece James and you just won the Champions League with Chelsea under Thomas Tuchel, who trusts you a lot whether you play as a right wing-back or a right centre-half as well, I think the future for you at Chelsea looks very good.
“I’m not sure how you convince him to leave that to go to Manchester City.
“I thought it was a very interesting quote from Pep and Man City if they’re really serious going for him.”
James is currently on international duty with England at Euro 2020.
