Reece Lewis James (born 8 December 1999) is an English professional footballer who plays as a right-back for Premier League club Chelsea, which he captains, and the England national team.

[12][13] Starting his grassroots playing career at Kew Park Rangers and Epsom Eagles, James signed with Chelsea at the age of six,[14][15] and had a short spell at West London rivals Fulham when he was seven.

[16] He played as a striker idolizing Didier Drogba in his early teens, but was moved to the midfield, and later to a right-back position where he struggled at first.

[18] He made his first-team debut on 4 August, starting in Wigan's first game of the season, helping his side to a 3–2 home victory over Sheffield Wednesday.

[23] James became Chelsea's youngest ever goalscorer in the UEFA Champions League when he scored the fourth goal of their 4–4 comeback draw with Ajax on 5 November.

[25] On 14 September 2020, James scored his first Premier League goal, in a 3–1 win for Chelsea against Brighton & Hove Albion.

[26] On 5 December, James made his 50th appearance for Chelsea in all competitions in the club's 3–1 league win over Leeds United.

[45] James returned on 11 May 2024 as a substitute against Nottingham Forest, providing the game-winning assist to Nicolas Jackson in the 3–2 victory at City Ground.

[48] After returning to play in October 2024, James was criticised by Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca for a lack of effort.

[60] James was a member of the under-20 squad that travelled to the 2019 Toulon Tournament and was carried off on a stretcher with ankle ligament damage during the first half of the final group game defeat to Chile on 7 June 2019.

[63] On 5 October 2020, James was called up for the first time to the senior team by manager Gareth Southgate following an injury to Raheem Sterling.

[70] In October 2022, following a knee injury sustained playing for Chelsea in the Champions League against AC Milan, James was ruled out of the 2022 FIFA World Cup.

[74] In August 2020, James made a personal donation and posted a link on his social media accounts to a Crowdfunder site which was looking to boost Wigan's funds; in a bid to save his former loan club.

[75] In January 2021, Marcus Rashford praised James, along with his teammate Mason Mount, for their "amazing" charitable work.