Todd Boehly to ‘make personal intervention’ over Reece James contract extension — report

Chelsea have seen fit to respond to tenuous speculation linking Reece James with interest from Manchester City and Real Madrid by making the 22-year-old’s contract extension a priority — though one that will only be addressed after the summer transfer window at the earliest due to more immediate concerns with more immediate deadlines that need to be addressed in the squad.

The Daily Mail report that new co-owner and interim sporting director Todd Boehly has made it his personal mission to ensure that James stays with the club, and “will make a personal intervention to ease emerging doubts” over his future. It’s unclear what this intervention might entail other than, you know, a new contract. James’s contract extension was already a priority line item when plans for the summer and immediately beyond were discussed during the ownership transition process (see also: Mason Mount).

Reecey, as Thomas Tuchel likes to call him, has been with Chelsea since the age of 6, and his sister, Lauren is also at the club after joining last summer. It’s a family affair, and we should certainly make sure that it continues like that — especially as the right back has become one of the most important players in the team already, one of the best in the world, even, and will only get better given his age and sky-high talent ceiling.

James has three years left on the 5.5-year deal his signed in January 2020. He’s obviously due a new deal, with a significant wage rise. We all know this, it shouldn’t need any extraordinary personal intervention from anyone at the club. Just get it done (ASAP) and keep building his budding legend.