‘James Better Defender Than Alexander-Arnold’ —Man United Legend, Ferdinand

Manchester United legend Rio Ferdinand has insisted that Reece James is better than Trent Alexander-Arnold right now after the Chelsea full-back’s impressive performance against AC Milan in Wednesday’s Champions League tie.

Both players have formed an intense rivalry in a battle for the England right-back spot ahead of the 2022 World Cup.

But James showed why he is currently ahead on Wednesday after scoring one and providing an assist against the Italian champions.

Ferdinand, speaking on BT Sport, suggested James is ahead in the race right now, but didn’t rule out that changing in the near future as Alexander-Arnold bids to return to form.

“On the ball, I believe he [James] is equally as good as Trent, but defensively he is a notch up in one versus one situations,’ said Ferdinand.

“That’s the difference between them at the moment. It is a great subplot for the Premier League.

“The best players have a rivalry and they will push each other. In my eyes, Reece is ahead right now, but Trent will come out of this spell and that could change.”

James was the star of the show at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday, putting on an impressive attacking display while dealing with Rafael Leao going the other way.

Ferdinand was impressed with how James handled one of Europe’s hottest prospects, despite a slow start.

“He was up against Leao, and if he didn’t know, Reece James knew after 10 mins he was in for a tough night,’ said the former England defender.

“I was screaming up here, James faces him up and gets left early. Then he is worrying. But in the second half he decided he would be aggressive, didn’t let Leao behind, took the ball, then Leao knew he was in for a fight.

“He also said I’ll defend you but I’ll go the other way too.”