'He didn't' - Jamie Carragher thinks Enzo Maresca has been proven right about Chelsea player after Newcastle United win

Chelsea captain Reece James has finally returned from injury after a torrid time on the sidelines, playing his first 90 minutes in 18 months over the weekend. The Blues bounced back from their tough-to-take defeat to Liverpool by defeating Newcastle United and further proving their top four credentials.

The win means the Blues are now in fifth place but crucially just one point behind each of Aston Villa and Arsenal. As for James, he now has 90 minutes of fitness to build on as he looks to stay injury free and to put his run of injuries behind him. although while he looked comfortable in spite of all that missed time, he is being criticised for one area of his game.

James’ captain credentials have been criticised, with Jamie Carragher now adding to criticism from Paul Scholes. The former Manchester United midfielder said on Sky: “The captain’s role is quite important. We had some unbelievable captains at Manchester United. Bryan Robson is someone you look up to with the stature, the presence, he looks after his players. Roy Keane – these types of players.

“You look at Arsenal, you look at the great captains – Tony Adams, Chelsea – John Terry, Liverpool – Steven Gerrard. All the big characters in the team, it’s important for these young players to look up to that. Reece James doesn’t look like a captain to me. He seems very quiet and shy. You can be captain like that but he’s just not the character that you’d expect for a club the size as Chelsea football club. Off the pitch, they are big characters as well that people look up to. I don’t see Cole Palmer as a captain.”

Carragher agrees

After the weekend’s action, Carragher joined in with that criticism by questioning whether James has the leadership needed to be a captain. Carragher said on the Overlap: “I can imagine [Enzo] Maresca looking at that and saying: ‘That’s what I mean by Reece James’.”

“He didn’t scream, he didn’t shout – we know he’s a brilliant player, but he’s [Enzo] probably gone into that club thinking: ‘I don’t know too much about him, I’ve heard about him, I’ve heard he’s a great player’.”

Enzo Fernandez was Chelsea’s captain during James’ absence this season, with the Argentine weathering and off-the-pitch storm to remain as captain over the late summer months, But Fernandez has found form this season and has led with his performances, helping Chelsea to a strong start under Maresca.

Maresca said of his decision to make Fernandez a captain back in September: "The reason why is Ican see his teammates recognise him, like a reference, as a captain, and he was already captain in the preseason when we changed Reece in the game. All of us make mistakes. It's important to recognise Enzo did a mistake, recognised the mistake and it's finished.

"I don't know about you, but I did some mistakes in the past and I recognised. As a human being, if you do a mistake and you recognise, you are not going to be punished for life. Enzo did a mistake, recognised. For me, he is one of the references and I have nothing to add."

But James will resume captaincy duties for now, providing he can stay fit, with Chelsea next in action against Newcastle United in the Carabao Cup in Wednesday night and against Manchester United at Old Trafford in the Premier League on Sunday.