City’s Young Player of the Year admits the focus will very much be on building up his match fitness to make certain he is ready for that curtain-raiser, but can’t help but wonder if the match will give any indication of what it will be like on 16 August.
“First of all it’s a really great fixture to have going into any season, whether we were playing Everton on the opening day or not,” James told LCFC.com.
“That’s because you’re up against some top class international players that will push you all the way. It’s always a great indictor to see where you’re at in terms of the level you’re playing and you’re fitness.
“Obviously we’re all building towards the same game, so if we do find that we’re ahead of them in fitness terms or something like that it can be a real confidence boost. On the other hand, if coming away from the game we feel like we’ve got some catching up to do then it can really spur us on to do better.
“Sometimes in these games you see teams experimenting with their personnel or formation, so you never quite know what to expect. I’ll certainly be paying attention to what they do though, because at this level it’s important to take any advantage you can.
“That can work both ways though. I might find it useful to get an idea of what it’s like to play in midfield against their players, but I’m sure they’ll be looking out for things that we do as well.”
James signed for City in the summer of 2012 from Manchester United, where he was highly-rated as a young player, even following in the footsteps of David Beckham by taking in a loan spell at Preston North End as a teenager.
Some unfortunate injuries hampered his progress, but last season, an injury-free James really began living up to his massive potential in central midfield alongside former Manchester United team-mate Danny Drinkwater.
It’s that progress that James in determined to continue by making the most of games like the one against Everton in Thailand. He added: “Pre-season is such an important time. You need to build up a base level of fitness that can help see you through the season, but as well as that, it’s about getting minutes under your belt on the pitch.
“You need to know that you’re able to get through a full 90 minutes without any problems, so the game in Bangkok will be a big part of that and I can’t wait.
“It’s all about being ready for that opening day of the season, so we’ll all be taking it very seriously. We want to be the best we can in the Premier League next season. We know we can do well, but we’ve got to put in the hard work, and that starts now.”
Tickets for the friendly between Leicester City and Everton at Bangkok’s Supachalasai Stadium on Sunday 27 July (kick-off 6pm local time, 12noon BST) are currently on sale .
Tickets are priced as follows:
Category Blue: 500 Thai Baht (approx. £9)
Category Silver: 1000 Thai Baht (approx. £18)
Category Gold: 2000 Thai Baht (approx. £36)