Former Chelsea winger Pat Nevin is of the opinion that defender Recce James can become the next Branislav Ivanovic at the club. The potential shown by the young right back has been immense and he was recently able to get his first Champions League goal in the 4-4 stalemate with Ajax.

Despite being only 19, he has already come up with two goals in nine matches for the club. The goalscoring exploits of James have been likened to Branislav Ivanovic, who was also immensely useful for the club going forward. Even when pitted against one of the best wingers in the form of Wilfred Zaha,Recce James was able to come out with flying colours.

After watching James once again dominate right side of midfield, Nevin claimed that the defender reminded him of Branislav Ivanovic. The Serbian defender came to Chelsea as a relatively unknown in 2008 for just about £ 9 million. However, he quickly established himself as one of the key members of the team. Initially a centre back by trade, Ivanovic showed his versatility by playing in a number of roles – most notably right back. He spent a decade at the club and ended up winning a multitude of honours including the Champions League. In fact,Ivanovic was crucial to the Champions League success since he was one of the central defenders in the final against Bayern Munich.
“He is definitely [a serious prospect]. Branislav Ivanovic was the same player. That’s a big compliment. He’s exceptional for his age,” said Nevin. Recce James has predominantly featured as a substitute in Frank Lampard’s new look Chelsea. He has had just one start, but things are expected to improve for the youth team graduate, who has been at Chelsea since six years of age. During his progression from the youth team,Recce James has picked up several FA Youth Cup titles.