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England star Reece James gives honest reaction to Marc Cucurella's Chelsea exit

Chelsea captain Reece James says he has been left “devastated” after Marc Cucurella’s exit from Stamford Bridge. Spain left back Cucurella made a surprise £52million move to Real Madrid and James admits he was sad to see him go. James said: “I spoke with him a few days ago. He's obviously an amazing player, one of the best left-backs in the world . “This is his football, you know, players move every few months, and I'm devastated to see him go, but I wish him all the best.” James revealed he has already spoken to new Chelsea boss Xabi Alonso and his appointment is a major coup for the club. But James says he is excited to work with Alonso after already working with one of his childhood heroes in Frank Lampard . Get the latest World Cup 2026 news in your inbox with our Make Football Great Again newsletter James told talkSPORT: “We've spoken a couple times on the phone. I haven't met him (Alonso) in person yet. Everyone I've spoken to about him says he's an amazing, amazing manager. I know him more from his playing career. You know, he had an amazing career, and now I'm excited to welcome him. “It's strange. I had it when I was younger with Frank Lampard. He was one of my idols growing up, and then when he stepped in as manager, it was a surreal moment. I'm delighted that Xabi Alonso is our manager, and I'm excited.” But for now, James is fully focused on England's World Cup campaign. He earned rave reviews from Thomas Tuchel for his dual role in the 4-2 win over Croatia and is enjoying the environment at the tournament. James said: “If you look around at the quality of the players we've got, we've got a lot of world-class players in the team. We've got a lot of players that have won big titles, in consecutive years as well, so the winning mentality is there for sure. I think that would probably be the key driver. “It’s been a dream come true for me. It was a moment I've waited for a long time. I had a long season with Chelsea, and I was happy to get called up. I feel the manager trusts trust me. We worked together previously at Chelsea, we won trophies together, and I love playing under him. “Him as a person, him as a manager, it just connects really well with him. I like his managerial side and his personal side as well. “If you look across the board of top managers, there's some amazing managers that are solely football focused, and then there's some that are very good man-managers and not so good managers. But, for me, he ticks both the boxes.” Join our new WhatsApp community and receive your daily dose of Mirror Football content. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you're curious, you can read our Privacy Notice.

2026-06-21

‘He was devastated’: ex-Man Utd coach reveals why Wayne Rooney cried after 2008 Champions League final despite victory

International Sports News: Discover why Wayne Rooney broke down in tears after Manchester United's victory in the 2008 Champions League final against Chelsea, despite the triumphant win. Former coach Mick Clegg shares exclusive insights on Rooney's feelings and his journey through football.

2026-05-07

Man Utd legend tells Chelsea to rehire Frank Lampard as manager

Chelsea legend Frank Lampard has impressed at Coventry City (Picture: Getty) Nicky Butt has backed Frank Lampard for another stint in charge of Chelsea and says he would do an ‘amazing job’ back at Stamford Bridge. Lampard looks set to take Coventry City back into the Premier League, with the Sky Blues sitting nine points clear at the top of the Championship with seven games remaining. Coventry have been in brilliant form under Lampard, losing just seven games in a highly competitive league and scoring 81 goals – 14 more than any other Championship side. This is by far Lampard’s most successful spell as a manager following his previous stints at Chelsea, Derby County and Everton. Chelsea legend Lampard was appointed as manager at Stamford Bridge in 2019 and enjoyed an encouraging start to his tenure, guiding the Blues to a fourth-place finish in the Premier League and into the FA Cup final, which they lost to Arsenal. The west London side continued to impress at the start of Lampard’s second season in charge, topping their Champions League group and climbing to the top of the Premier League in early December. But Chelsea then won just two of their next eight games to slip to ninth and Lampard was sacked at the end of January 2021. Liam Rosenior is already under pressure at Chelsea (Picture: Getty) A disappointing spell at Everton followed before Lampard returned to Chelsea during the 2022-23 season as caretaker manager following Graham Potter’s sacking. But Lampard failed to change the mood in west London, winning just one of his 11 matches in charge and taking Chelsea into the bottom-half of the Premier League. Lampard has had no such issues at Coventry, however, and Manchester United hero Butt believes he should now be a candidate for the Chelsea job once again. Ex-Manchester United midfielder Nicky Butt (Picture: Getty) A large section of Chelsea supporters are already losing faith in Liam Rosenior, who was appointed in January following Enzo Maresca’s departure. Chelsea were thrashed 8-2 by PSG in the Champions League and have slipped to sixth in the Premier League, six points outside the top-four places, since Rosenior took over. The Blues are willing to give Rosenior more time to turn things around but Butt believes Lampard would do an ‘amazing job’ back at Chelsea should they be searching for a new manager in the near future. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Up Next Previous Page Next Page Speaking on The Good, The Bad & The Football podcast, Butt said: ‘Do you think if Frank Lampard gets promotion with Coventry they could go back in for Frank? ‘He got the job too early the first time I think and he had the transfer embargo so he had to use a lot of young players. ‘It wouldn’t be a stupid thing to go and get Frank Lampard back in charge of Chelsea for me. He’s done a great job at Coventry. ‘He’s got a bit more experience now and he probably made a few mistakes the first time around. People need to understand that transfer embargo means you have to rely on loads of young players, that must have been difficult for him. ‘He would be a totally different manager now. I think Lampard would find it easier working with better players, it would be easier for him to get his messages across to more technical players. ‘If Frank went back into Chelsea, with all the experience he’s got now, I think he would do an amazing job, I really do.’ For more stories like this, check our sport page. Follow Metro Sport for the latest news on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

2026-03-23