After breaking through to the first-team during the years of Cesar Azpilicueta’s immense leadership on and off the pitch, the opportunity was not forthcoming. Now that our former skipper has moved back to his homeland after more than a decade in Blue, Mauricio Pochettino has a decision to make ahead of our Premier League curtain-raiser with Liverpool.

Reece is a popular figure at Cobham, with his sunrise of a smile always present, highlighting how proud he is to represent his boyhood club at such a high level.

At the age of 22, James now feels the time is right to step-up. Of course, the decision may not be his to make. But he has listed numerous reasons as to why he is a good fit for the captaincy.

‘Of course [I would want to be captain]. I have been at Chelsea my whole life,’ he said. ‘I have always dreamt of it. I am sure when the time is right, hopefully it happens.

‘Everyone has a different way of being a leader. Some speak, while some show their actions on the field. I’d like to think I could do both. I try and help the team as much as I can.’

Despite still being such a young player himself, James is now one of the more experienced players in the dressing room as he approaches his fifth season in Chelsea colours.

‘There are a lot of different roles for the players that are still here. It is time for the ones who have been here longer to step up,’ he said, speaking indirectly at himself.

‘It is going to be a tough season, there is no easy season in the Premier League. Last season was probably the toughest I have experienced. I feel we are now moving in the right direction. Last season, some players did not want to be there because they were not playing.’

Reece echoed his team-mates’ comments in recent weeks on Pochettino’s excellent start to life at the Blues, in terms of setting the standards and culture.

‘Since the new manager has come in, the energy has changed. It has been a very good atmosphere and I think that you can see that in our recent performances. This season there are a lot of fresh faces, new staff and that has had a big impact on the players so far. Everyone is excited and cannot wait to get started.

‘It is too early to say what we can achieve together. But we are Chelsea Football Club at the end of the day and we are ambitious. We do not enter anything not to win. I don’t see why us winning this season is not possible. We have a strong group and we will only get stronger the longer we play together. The more we understand each other and how the manager wants us to play,’ he added.

‘We are on to a new page now and we’re looking forward to this season.’

All pre-season tour matches* will be available to watch live and free of charge on the official Chelsea app and the official Chelsea website. Broadcasting for each game starts 30 minutes before kick-off.

(*excludes USA and UK where the Brighton, Newcastle and Fulham matches will be shown on NBC Sports and Sky Sports respectively)