Reece James believes that Crystal Palace ace Wilfried Zaha is the toughest opponent he has come up against since making his way into the Chelsea first-team, per the club’s official website.

What’s he said?

James has made 20 appearances in all competitions for the first-team this season.

And the right-back believes that Zaha is the man who has given him the most trouble.

Indeed, Chelsea were linked with a January bid to bring the winger to the club in January, though no move materialised.

Asked about his toughest opponent, he said: “Wilfried Zaha - he’s got loads of skills and he’s very fast. He’s quite slight but I didn’t realise how strong he was until I was up side by side with him.

“There are different team brackets and every team has three or four players that you think "wow, why are you not playing at a bigger club?

"There are so many great players in the league."

Where Are They Now: Chelsea edition. Do you know where all these Blues stars have ended up?

Controlled him

James dealt well with Zaha.

The two sides went head-to-head at Stamford Bridge in November and Frank Lampard’s side won 2-0, with the right-back keeping the former Manchester United man quiet throughout the game.

Per WhoScored, Zaha did not manage to have a shot on goal in the game, with James winning two tackles throughout the clash and also making two interceptions and one clearance.

Reports claimed in January that Palace would have demanded £80m for Zaha and any move would have cost Chelsea a pretty penny.

It is understandable that they didn’t make the move, though, with James controlling him throughout their encounter in 2019.