Cobham graduate Reece James has quickly established himself as one of Europe’s best fullbacks ever since breaking into Chelsea’s first team during the 2019-20 season.
The Chelsea man turned into a key member of the side under Frank Lampard’s management, and he continues to be crucial to the Blues to this day.
Despite being at Chelsea since he was 8 years old, James’ climb up the ranks was far from simple, as the fullback suffered from fitness issues during his teen years.
The 23-year-old’s current physique is known to be quite impressive, James is built like a tank, and he carries plenty of muscle without losing any mobility.
Standing at 5’10, the former Wigan player is far from the tallest, yet he maintains a reported weight of 91 kg.
The figure might seem outrageous at first, but considering how easily James manages to shrug off opposition players, we reckon most of the weight accounts for his muscles.
As mentioned before, the weight hasn’t led to any noticeable loss in agility or mobility for the fullback. A typical performance from the 23-year-old sees him dart up and down his flank while motoring at rapid speeds.
James is also ripped to the max, as seen in the image below.
The fullback and his trainers have clearly invested heavily into his physique to draw out optimal performance, and on the pitch, it appears to be doing wonders.
But with excessive weight, comes a degree of bulk. And for those unacquainted with the fullback, his build might seem a bit hefty.
Many fans online have suggested the same in the past, some even resorted to calling him ‘fat’ and gave him the puerile nickname ‘Obeece James’.
While the nickname holds no weight when contrasted against James’ current physique, it is no secret that the fullback was indeed overweight as a kid.
Reece James struggled with his weight as a teenager
In an interview with the Independent, the Champions League winner talked about his fitness issues as a teen.
James said, ‘When I was 13 to 14, I put on a lot of weight. I had to work hard just to get myself in a position where I could complete a full match. It was very tough, I wouldn’t say I had doubts in my ability but go through spells where you’re unsure of yourself.’
Evidently, the extra weight cast a cloud of uncertainty over a young Reece, but he went on to overcome them the very next year by working twice as hard and taking extra sessions with a fitness coach.
While James has certainly put the past behind him, fans on Twitter continue to dwell upon it, as an image of the fullback as a teenager recently emerged online.
In it, James’ lack of fitness is noticeable, and at the very least, he looked to be relatively overweight for his age. The image attracted some trolling from some fans, just the standard fat jokes one would expect.
