Reece and Lauren James

Reece and Lauren James are both thriving in the top flight at Chelsea and Manchester United respectively, and could make Three Lions history. FFT brings the prodigious siblings together for a trip down memory lane and glance into the crystal ball

The brother- sister duo reveal all

Bobby Charlton and Jack Charlton. Gary Neville and Phil Neville. Nearly anyone can name brothers who have featured for England, but ask them to name a brother and sister who have represented the Three Lions at senior level and they will probably be stumped. In the next few years, don’t be surprised if the answer becomes obvious: Reece James and Lauren James.

Capped by England at junior levels, the pair have been making plenty of waves in their debut top- tier campaigns. Right- back Reece, 20, has broken into Chelsea’s first team after a successful loan spell with Wigan Athletic. Lauren, 18, is shining upfront for Manchester United in the Women’s Super League.

Brought up near Richmond in south- west London, their respective careers mean they are living at opposite ends of the country for the first time this term – but they have been reunited for a Fourfourtwo photoshoot at Cobham Sound, a few hundred yards from Chelsea’s training ground.

Snaps sorted, they are ready to chat about their careers to date and dreams of making history in the decade ahead…

FFT: What do you remember about playing football together when you were young?

Reece: Me, my sister and older brother Josh used to play football with a few of our friends. That was where it all started, in Mortlake.

Lauren: Yeah, in a field behind our house. We went there every day and kicked a ball about.

Reece: Most times we would be on the same team, playing against the others – we won most games! We didn’t really play much as just the three of us – although when we did, sometimes it would be me and her against my older brother. He was much bigger and stronger than us at the time…

Lauren: So he’d always win! [ Laughs]

Reece: We played in a tournament together for the same team, the Epsom Eagles, when I was maybe eight.

Lauren: Yeah, I was six.

Reece: And we won the tournament... Lauren: I’ve always looked up to my brothers. They were both on the football pathway. Josh played at club level until he was about 16 – just going to all their training sessions and kicking a ball at the side of the pitch, it made me want to do it too.

Reece: On the occasions we played against each other, I was never going to let her win, though! [ Both laugh]

Lauren: That probably helped me, because it made it harder. He was physically stronger and very good technically. Being around boys who played football to a good level, it made me a better player. FFT: Are you really competitive away from football, too?

Reece: Sometimes we play Fortnite, but we play together on that. I’m much better than her, though...

Lauren: Yeah, he is… [ Laughs]

“I JUST WANT TO KEEP SCORING, PLAY IN THE CHAMPIONS LEAGUE AND HOPEFULLY GET A CALL- UP”

FFT: he was Your young, dad played then moved for Aldershot into coaching. when How Lauren: much Yeah, did he he started help you off both? playing but he had an interest a serious in coaching. injury – that’s He started when he his found own coaching years. Now school he’s starting and it’s to got produce bigger over players the who FFT: Like have you earned two... professional contracts. Reece: From a young age, he tried to help us get to the highest level we could. The main thing he taught us was repetition. You can’t do something once and be the best at it. If you keep doing it over and over, you’re going to get better. FFT: Which team did you support as kids? Reece: I supported Chelsea.

Lauren: Me too!

Reece: We didn’t really have access to go to games when we were young, so we watched them on television. Winning the Champions League [ in 2012] is the moment I remember. When Didier Drogba scored the penalty to win it, I was buzzing. FFT: Who were your heroes? Lauren: Eden Hazard, because he made the game look so easy.

FFT: Are there any similarities with your own style of play?

Lauren: I’d like to say so, but… [ Laughs]

Reece: For me it was Didier Drogba – I was a striker when I was young, and all I wanted to do was score goals. As I grew up, I wasn’t really doing it in that position any more, so I moved into central midfield. I spent a few years there, then found myself at right- back. Playing in an attacking position when I was younger helped as I dropped further back. FFT: Could you still do a job upfront? Reece: [ Laughs] I don’t know, we’d have to see about that… but I’d like to think I could do a decent job! FFT: How did you first get signed up?

Reece: I started at Chelsea at six. They saw me when I was playing in a tournament for a team called KPR. I scored a few free- kicks.

Lauren: I was at Chelsea from six until 13. I was at one of Reece’s training sessions – having a kickaround – and a guy from the women’s team saw me. He asked my dad if I wanted to go along and train.

Reece: Being told you were going to train with the team you supported was great.

When I was eight or nine, I got taken into the Chelsea dressing room, they gave me a shirt and all the players signed it – John Terry and a lot of others. It’s still at my parents’ house today, hung over my bed. Frank Lampard’s name is on it – I haven’t told him so I’m not sure he knows, but he’s definitely on there! FFT: Lauren, you then joined Arsenal at 13... Lauren: I wanted a new challenge, to try to break into Arsenal’s first team. I started to train with them from 14 or 15. I trained with the boys’ team, too: in my last season there, I trained with the academy’s under- 14s on a Tuesday night, which made me better. It took a few sessions for them to respect me, because not many people think girls can play to the same level as boys. I started getting more respect when they knew I could play. FFT: You have been described as Arsenal’s best academy graduate. Then in 2018, you got the chance to join Manchester United’s newly- formed women’s team... Lauren: They were a new team and I wanted to be part of their journey, to get them where they want to be. The season before that, I’d get a full game here, 20 minutes there, and I didn’t go to Manchester United thinking I’d play in the majority of games, but I did. Your confidence increases and you begin to score goal after goal. FFT: Was there a particular moment when you knew your sibling was going to make it as a pro?

Reece: There wasn’t a moment, but I knew she was going to be a good player – there weren’t too many who had the same talent.

Lauren: For me, the standout moment when I thought, ‘ Wow’ was his breakout season on loan at Wigan. I was living close by so there were games I’d be able to go and watch, and I didn’t know he had some of those things in his locker! I hadn’t seen him play like that before, scoring and assisting.

Reece: It was a bit strange going to live away from London – I was staying in Bolton, which is different to Surrey, so it took some getting used to. But as I got more games and made friends, it became a lot easier. FFT: You also bizarrely arrived at Wigan as a replacement for another full- back, also called Reece James...

Reece: Yeah, you don’t see that too often – it was strange when I found out about that! I was nervous when I arrived: coming from an under- 23 environment into a first- team dressing room, you don’t really know what to expect. In the end, I played right- back for 20 games, and then central midfield for 25 games after that.

Lauren: I remember a game where he picked it up from midfield, drove forward and then literally just rifled it – it went top bins!

Reece: That was a decent goal…

FFT: You won Wigan’s player of the season award with 96 per cent of the vote. Did you vote for him, Lauren?

Lauren: I didn’t, I’m not going to lie! [ Laughs] But I think because of the season he had, the fans had no option!

Reece: The manager, Paul Cook, told me that I was going to be captain for the last match of the season. That was a surprise, being so young, but it was a great experience that I’ll never forget. There were loads of occasions when I watched Lauren play last season, too.

Lauren: We weren’t living too far from each other and that helped. It was the first season up north for both of us, so it was all new. We were used to having friends around us – so having a brother down the road was helpful. FFT: Things went well for you last season, too, as Manchester United won promotion to the Women’s Super League. It seemed like you were on the right path when you scored the club’s first two goals in a 12- 0 win over Aston Villa...

Lauren: Yeah, that wasn’t a bad start! It was brilliant to get promoted.

FFT: What’s it been like stepping up to the WSL this season?

Lauren: Tougher. You’re coming up against better defenders – players who have played at World Cups, and the game is a lot quicker. Last season, you could maybe have got away with not being at the top of your game with sleep, nutrition etc. This season you’ve got to stay on top of it all, or you get found out. FFT: You’re competing for 4th place behind Manchester City, Chelsea and Arsenal – the dominant teams in recent seasons. Are you happy with how it’s been going? Lauren: I think 4th would be OK, considering it’s our first season in the WSL. The manager, Casey Stoney, has built around players she brought in last season, and added a few new faces who have fitted in well. FFT: You’re the first player to net 25 goals for the new Manchester United side – how proud are you about that?

Lauren: That’s a great feeling, but I just want to keep scoring. Eventually I want to play in the Champions League and win trophies, as well as improving my own game.

Reece: To see her doing well, I’m happy, the whole family is happy and most importantly she’s happy. I give her advice whenever I can – I’m older than her, so I try to help. FFT: You’re both known for scoring belting goals. Who has the hardest shot? Reece: My shots are harder than hers!

Lauren: [ Laughs] Yeah, his legs are more powerful...

FFT: Who spends the longest in the gym?

Reece: A lot of people say

I’m pretty powerful, but I don’t particularly like the gym! I prefer to be out on the field.

Lauren: I’m the same. The gym isn’t really my favourite place, but as a female you have to be in there more because it takes longer to build muscle and keep it. FFT: Reece, you’ve previously spoken about issues with your weight when you were 13 or 14. How did you come through it? Reece: That was one of the toughest periods of my career so far. I was young, I was living in digs away from home, and you don’t really know what’s right and what’s wrong. I was eating badly, my lifestyle wasn’t good and it all caught up with me. I wasn’t playing and I didn’t have a contract at the time. As I got a little bit older, I started to realise that either I make sacrifices or this is it. FFT: You went on to win the FA Youth Cup twice under Jody Morris and reach the EFL Trophy semi- finals under Joe Edwards – the furthest any under- 21 team has got in the tournament. Both now coach the first team – has that helped?

Reece: Yeah, I’d worked with Jody and Joe since I was 15 or 16, for three or four years before they got jobs coaching the first team. That was great – I’d worked with them day in, day out and they know me, so it’s helped. FFT: What did you make of Frank Lampard being appointed manager?

Reece: I admired Lampard and all the main leaders of the team when I was a kid. Every other game, he would score a brilliant goal. When I heard he was the manager, it was great – he’s a Chelsea legend. He wanted to sign me for Derby last January, but it didn’t go through – I was happy playing at Wigan. It was good to know he rated me, although that was at Championship level, and when you get a big job at a Premier League team, sometimes minds can change. But we spoke when he arrived and he said he wanted to give me a chance. I was injured, and he told me to come back in the best shape possible. I’m thankful that I’ve got to work with him. FFT: Lauren, as a Chelsea fan yourself, are you envious that he’s working with Frank? Lauren: Yeah! Although when Lampard was playing I was still young, so I guess you don’t realise the impact he had as much.

“THE GOAL AGAINST AJAX WILL ALWAYS BE A HUGE PART OF MY CAREER. I COULDN’T BELIEVE IT”

FFT: Reece, the newspapers linked you with a £ 15 million move to Manchester United after your loan at Wigan. Was it flattering to hear a valuation like that?

Reece: It’s nice when you hear people talking about you and how well you’re doing. I don’t take too much notice of speculation, though.

FFT: How determined were you to make the breakthrough at your boyhood club? Reece: I thought if there was a season I was going to do it, this was it. I knew Frank liked playing young players, so I figured if I could get back fit and do what I should be doing, I’d get opportunities. My debut was at home to Grimsby in the League Cup – to score and get an assist was a dream come true.

Lauren: I was in Manchester, but I watched it on telly. I was happy for him. He got a lot of assists last season so I wasn’t surprised about that. I was surprised that he scored! FFT: Joe Cole has compared your crossing to David Beckham, Reece...

Reece: [ Smiles] It’s great to hear what people think of my crossing, but David Beckham did it at the top for several years! FFT: After the Grimsby game, you started playing regularly in the Premier League and featured in the Champions League... Reece: The highlight was my goal against Ajax in the Champions League. I started the game on the bench and you think, ‘ I might not come on at all’. But we were losing, and then I got told I was coming on at half- time. FFT: That 4- 4 draw was one of the craziest games we’ve seen for a long time. Chelsea were 4- 1 down, and would have gone out in the group stage if they had lost. Lauren: I watched the game on TV, too – it was really exciting! When Reece came on at half- time, I thought he must be coming on to make a difference – and he did. When his shot went in for the equaliser, my heart was pounding. I was like, ‘ Did that just happen?!’

Reece: I couldn’t believe it. The ball just dropped to me in the box, and I hit it. When I saw it fly into the net, it was amazing. It was the equalising goal

– we’d come from three goals down. FFT: And the goal celebration...

Reece: I didn’t know where my head was at the time! [ Laughs] I just did a knee slide – it was the first thing that came into my head!

Lauren: It was something like this… [ Outstretches her arms] But when you’re so excited, you don’t really know what you’re doing! I don’t have a goal celebration – in that moment, if you’ve just scored, you can’t control it. Everything just rushes to your head and you don’t know where to run or what to do!

Reece: I think that goal will always be a huge part of my career, as it helped us secure qualification. Dad was gutted he couldn’t be there that night – he had a game that day, and

“LAMPARD DOESN’T KNOW I’VE GOT A SIGNED SHIRT HUNG OVER THE BED AT MY PARENTS’ HOUSE”

told me beforehand that he wanted me to do well if I came on. He was buzzing that I’d come on and done so well, but fuming that he hadn’t been there!

FFT: You’re in the first team with several of your friends from the Chelsea academy. What’s that like?

Reece:

Great. I came through the academy with a few of them – Callum Hudson- Odoi, Tammy Abraham, Mason Mount and Fikayo Tomori – so it’s brilliant playing with them in the first team. I know them all as characters, I know how they play. We didn’t really talk about the possibility of this happening when we were young, as you feel so close but so far away. You just

play in the moment – you don’t want to think too far ahead. But you can ask any of them – we’re all happy and all thankful that we got the chance and have come through together. FFT: You’ve also signed a new contract... Reece: That’s great, too. It’s always been my dream to play for Chelsea, so a five- year deal secures me here for a longer period of time. I want to play as many games as I can and see where it takes me. FFT: Do you think you can become one of the best full- backs in England? Reece: Why not? With my potential and my ability, I think I can get there. FFT: Lauren, what was it like to captain England Under- 17s?

Lauren: My personality is quite shy, so being a leader was different for me, but it was nice. It would be a dream to play for the senior team, but all I can do is focus on doing well for my club, see where it goes and hopefully get a call- up. I don’t want to think too hard about it – when the time’s right, it will come. FFT: Reece, you’ve won two tournaments with England!

Reece: Yeah, Toulon, then the Euros with the under- 19s. Breaking into the senior side one day would be a dream come true. I know the manager has given a chance to a few young players, but it all comes back to what you’re doing at your club. If you’re doing well and playing every week, you could get a chance. FFT: With Trent Alexander- Arnold, Aaron Wan- Bissaka, Kieran Trippier and Kyle Walker around, right- back is probably the most competitive spot in England’s squad. Have you been inspired by all the others?

Reece: Yeah, there are four or five world- class right- backs in the England setup right now. I’m confident of competing and can’t wait to prove myself. FFT: What would it mean to you if you could both play for England at senior level in the near future?

Lauren: I think it would be an amazing feeling – having two siblings, female and male, in the senior setup for your country. That’s a rare thing in football.

Reece: It would be great. We’re both currently playing for massive clubs in England. With time, there’s no reason why we can’t get there.