Mauricio Pochettino must now start 23-year-old Chelsea player vs Tottenham after weekend experiment fails

Chelsea manager Mauricio Pochettino tinkered with his starting XI in his side’s 2-0

defeat to Brentford over the weekend, partly because of injury.

Both Enzo Fernandez and Mykhailo Mudryk had to drop out because of small problems, while Axel Disasi came in at right-back.

Going forward, though, starting with Chelsea’s next Premier League match against Tottenham Hotspur, Mauricio Pochettino would be wise to move Disasi back to central defence and start Reece James at right-back.

Axel Disasi at right-back did not work against Brentford
James has just returned from injury and perhaps Pochettino wanted Disasi in the side for the Brentford game to help the Blues at set pieces. The Frenchman stands at 6 ft 3 so is quite dominant in the air.

However, in the end, Chelsea did not really benefit from Disasi coming back into the team and playing at right-back.

He did not offer anything going forward, which is understandable given that he is a centre-half by trade, and was actually beaten to the ball for Brentford’s first goal when it came into the box.

After what seemed to be a mix up with Noni Madueke, Disasi did not even end up competing in the air with Ethan Pinnock, who headed the ball home to put Thomas Frank’s side 1-0 up.

Reece James should replace Axel Disasi at right-back
If James is fit enough to start against Tottenham next Monday, then he has to begin the game at right-back.

In contrast to Disasi, the 23-year-old is able to offer a lot in attack.

Chelsea FC v Liverpool FC – Premier League
Photo by Robin Jones/Getty Images
Back in the 2021/22 season, where James had less injury problems, he managed to come up with 14 goal contributions in 26 Premier League appearances, which is extremely impressive for a full-back.

The England international also managed to make 1.8 key passes per game, more than other player in his squad at the time bar Mason Mount, who averaged 1.8 as well, and Kenedy, who only featured once (WhoScored).

If James is not ready to start, then Malo Gusto would be the next best option when Chelsea travel to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.