James joined the Blues at the age of six and progressed through the academy ranks at Cobham. He made his first-team debut in September 2019 and has become a key figure at the club.

The 23-year-old has made 147 appearances for Chelsea, won the Champions League, UEFA Super Cup and FIFA Club World Cup, and established himself as an England international.

James is now one of the more experienced figures in the Blues squad and Pochettino believes the full-back can captain the side in the seasons ahead.

'He is one of the possibilities. We are talking from day one about his objectives and how he was in the last few years at the club,' explained the Argentine coach.

'He feels Chelsea, he came from the academy. He is one of the profiles, one of players that can be the present and future captain of the club.’

James endured a difficult 2022/23 campaign due to injury; he made only 24 appearances in all competitions and didn't feature beyond April.

Yet having overcome an illness that delayed his arrival in the U.S, James is now close to making his returned to match action.

‘Yes, of course it's good to have him back,' said Pochettino, who was speaking ahead of our second Premier League Summer Series fixtures.

'He is a very important player for us and it’s good to have player like him back. Hopefully, tomorrow he can play.’

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)