Pochettino told of "obvious choice" for Chelsea captain after Azpilicueta exit

31 July 2023 , 12:50

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Pochettino told of "obvious choice" for Chelsea captain after Azpilicueta exit

Former Chelsea defender Wayne Bridge believes Reece James is the "obvious choice" for Chelsea's captaincy after the England star put himself forward for the role.

Cesar Azpilicueta had worn the armband since 2019, taking over after Gary Cahill left Stamford Bridge, but left for Atletico Madrid in June. Thiago Silva has often served as the on-field captain, but the Brazilian turns 39 in September and new manager Mauricio Pochettino may decide he needs to think longer-term.

James has spoken of his dream of becoming captain "when the time is right," while the England international's father Nigel has also been fighting his corner. And now Bridge, part of Chelsea's first Premier League winning squad under Jose Mourinho, has also made a case for the right-back.

"For me, the armband, you could say it's an obvious decision to give it to him," Bridge tells Mirror Football . "But I'm not in there - sometimes you might see someone get the captaincy and think 'how have they got that' but you don't know what they're like in the dressing room. If you don't know the players personally it's a really difficult one.

Pochettino saw his side win the Premier League Summer Series in Maryland on Sunday (Getty Images)

"He seems like he'd want it, and an obvious choice, but it depends who they get in. I think the manager will probably end up making the right decision once he sees what everyone's like on the training field. He won't rush into the decision."

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James is among those players to have worn the armband in pre-season, with Pochettino's team winning the Premier League Summer Series. The Blues claimed two wins and one draw, with goals from Silva and Christopher Nkunku giving them victory in their final US friendly.

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Reece James wore the armband as Chelsea thrived in pre-season (Getty Images)

As Pochettino looks to trim his squad, Azpilicueta is far from the only big name to leave. N'Golo Kante, Edouard Mendy and Kalidou Koulibaly have all moved to the Saudi Pro League, while others to depart include Mateo Kovacic, Christian Pulisic and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.

Another player to attract interest is Conor Gallagher, with bids for the academy talent knocked back. The 23-year-old missed just three games in the league last season as Chelsea slumped to a 12th place finish, and Bridge is torn on whether now is the time to cash in.

"It's a really tough call," Bridge says. "You see him and feel he'll put the work in and he'll graft, but I'm not 100 per cent sold if he is the right person, if he's the guy for Chelsea, and I think there should probably be better there.

"That's hard to say because you can see him and he seems like a genuine guy who will work his socks off for everything. "But I feel like he isn't a [Frank] Lampard, he isn't a [Michael] Ballack, he isn't a [Claude] Makelele, and I think maybe you need a little bit better."

Wayne Bridge was competing at the World Series of Poker Super Circuit in London, in association with GGPoker, on the VIP table event to celebrate the opening night of two weeks of professional Poker action in the capital. Former boxing champion Carl Froch saw off fierce competition to take home the first prize of WSOP Mystery Millions buy-in!

Tom Victor