Mauricio Pochettino has solved two-year Chelsea problem that Thomas Tuchel failed with

There is no doubt that Reece James has been a huge miss for Chelsea in the past couple of seasons especially. It has been a never-ending injury nightmare for the 24-year-old.

Staggeringly, James has been sidelined through injury for 53 of Chelsea's 83 matches since the beginning of the 2022/23 season. Largely down to hamstring problems, but there have been a couple of knee injuries and one thigh issue as well in that time. It is hard not to feel extreme sympathy for the man that was appointed the club's permanent captain last summer.

James' latest setback, coming in the first-half of the defeat at Everton in December where he felt something in his hamstring yet again, saw him go down the route of surgery. The England international underwent the operation at the end of December which is set to help the right-back in the long-term but means he will be out for a longer period as he recovers.

football.london understands James is progressing well in his rehabilitation programme at Cobham, but those around him are reluctant to give a specific timeframe for when the captain will return to action. Either way, there is no need for Chelsea to take the huge risk of rushing James back this season.

Malo Gusto, signed for £26.3million in January 2023, has been superb for the Blues in recent matches. Gusto was bought by Chelsea at the beginning of last year but was loaned back to Lyon, part of the reason the club were able to negotiate successfully with the French outfit, for the rest of the season.

Gusto took to the Premier League seamlessly. His physicality, speed and technical ability are top-notch and while Mauricio Pochettino admitted there are still many things for the Frenchman to develop, he is proving to be a bargain for less than