James' impressive defensive skills and quality on the ball in the final third means he is widely recognised as one of the best right-backs in the world.

But it was clear early into the Chelsea Academy graduate's career that he had the potential to excel in a number of other roles, not just at right-back.

For much of the second half of his loan spell at Wigan Athletic during the 2018/19 season, James impressed in the centre of midfield and ended the campaign winning the club's Player of the Year, Player's Player of the Year and Goal of the Season awards.

The 25-year-old has been used infrequently in midfield and central defence by both Chelsea and England over the years and Maresca revealed the prospect of James playing in central midfield was always on the cards.

‘You can ask Reece, the day after I signed with Chelsea, I sent him a video about seeing him as a midfielder,' Maresca said.

'I see Reece as a midfielder, not just now but since day one. Before I met him for the first time, when he was on holiday, I sent him a clip of how he could play as a midfielder.

'So I imagined him playing as a midfielder a long time ago. He is playing [there] now, but the good thing is this season he has played as a full-back, a central defender, many positions, but the main target for us is to help him stay fit all season.’

James' first ten appearances this season were at either right-back or left-back, but with his fitness improving all the time following injury, the last two games, against Aston Villa and Copenhagen, have seen him feature in the heart of midfield.

Thursday night's 2-1 win in Denmark saw James lead from the front once more as he scored the game's opening goal with a low drive from outside the box.

Maresca said: ‘When you watch a player, you have to use your imagination and imagine a player doing something. So, I always imagined him behaving as a midfielder. I then watched some of his games when he was on loan at Wigan, and I still remember he scored a fantastic goal from 30 metres as a midfielder. So I remembered the video I sent him.

'Especially, the best thing in this moment is he is helping us in leadership [too]. He is growing a lot and this is important.’