Reece James was the star of the show as England cruised to a 3-0 win over Latvia, scoring a stunning free-kick and picking up the official Man of the Match award.

His performance reignited the debate about his best position, but former Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel remains adamant—James is not a midfielder.

After the game, Tuchel was once again quizzed on whether he ever considered deploying James in a central role. His response was clear:

“Very, very rarely with Chelsea,” Tuchel said.

“If you play a dominant match like today he can be in the last 20 minutes a hybrid midfielder where he comes from the left or right full-back position and helps in midfield to create an overload because he has the quality on the ball to accelerate with his passes, to play chip balls, to switch sides.

“He’s very confident. If it’s an open game and there are a lot of transitions through midfield, I’m not so sure if it would suit him perfectly.”

Tuchel’s view on James’ best role is a stark contrast to that of Enzo Maresca, who has hinted at using the Chelsea captain in midfield as he returns from another injury setback.

However, the German coach left no doubt about James’ elite quality, highlighting his belief that the 24-year-old was physically ready despite his limited game time for Chelsea.

He said: “There cannot be any doubt about Reece’s quality in itself. It’s the highest level. We have been in close contact in the last few weeks and were sure that he trained for weeks. When he didn’t play it was the choice of the club to protect him. We knew he was in good shape.”

With Maresca considering a different approach, it remains to be seen how James will be deployed at Chelsea moving forward. But in Tuchel’s mind, his best role is clear—and it’s not in midfield.