Champions League winner Owen Hargreaves admits Chelsea fullback Reece James reminds him of Michael Essien.

James operated a midfield role in Wednesday's 3-3 draw against Zenit in Saint Petersburg after four central midfielders were ruled out, with Ruben Loftus-Cheek also injuring himself in the warm-up.

Despite a position change, James still impressed and Hargreaves heaped praise on James.

"When he was on loan at Wigan he played centre-midfield there and the reports that came back from there was 'who is this kid? Oh he's a right-back'. He got player of the year at Wigan and he's a ridiculous talent," he said on BT Sport.

"We spoke about young players, right-backs in this country dictating games. He went into midfield and looked like he was playing there all of his life.

"He was dominating, passing, breaking things up but he looks accustomed to playing there."

Hargreaves also made a bold claim, comparing his ability to that of Blues icon Michael Essien.

"You know who he reminds me of when he plays there? Essien," added the former England international.

"Powerful. Much better feet but he can cover ground, he can play on his own and get up against players one-v-one.

"He's such a great player. I don't think he has a weakness, he's the most complete player out of all the full-backs."