Former Chelsea winger Pat Nevin says Reece James isn't the right choice for club captain.

The fullback has battled with injury since being named captain in August.

Nevin told Luckyblock.com: “People get too carried away when it comes to captaincy. I watch Chelsea every week and I don't care who has got the armband on. The captain is Thiago Silva. He's the player that his teammates look up to. He's the one controlling and moving players around on the pitch. It doesn't matter if you throw in anything around his arm or his head, it's the ones that the players respect.

“Giving the armband to a player like Reece James, I think that was a signal. Sometimes you have a club captain and a team captain. It's two different roles. The club captain is the one that's a good person around the dressing room and shows the ethics of the club. That's different to being a team captain. On the field, you have to have someone that's on the field regularly but it doesn't really matter as much as people think.

“I expect Thiago Silva, Enzo Fernandez and Raheem Sterling all to be a captain. If you're a core player in the team even if you're not in the best form, you'll be that player that people look up to.

“From outside the game, people get too excited about this. In international football, eight guys in that team are captains, because they might be captains of their own clubs. We all feel the captaincy. It's about doing the right thing and helping your teammates.

“It's not perfect with Reece because he's not played that many games and when he has played, he's not looked right. He doesn't look like the player he's been in the past. He wouldn't be the one I would choose as captain for those reasons but is it that important? Not really."