Josh McEachran
Nationality :
English
Date of Birth :
01/03/1993
England
Height :
5' 10" (178cm)
Weight :
10st 3lbs (64.92kg)
Squad No :
20
Position :
Midfielder
A left-sided or central creative midfielder, Josh made his Chelsea debut aged just 17 years and six months in September 2010, coming on as a substitute in a 4-1 away Champions League win in Zilina.
The previous season, 2009/10, was his first since leaving school and was one of genuine progress, climaxing with a place in the England Under 17 side that won the European Championship.
It was his second piece of silverware in a matter of weeks, following on from the lifting of the 2010 FA Youth Cup. Josh had been relatively quiet in the opening rounds but bloomed in the semi-final and final when he was as good as anyone on the pitch.
Very comfortable on the ball and with vision and passing to match, he was a regular in the youth team when still a schoolboy and has been with Chelsea since the age of eight.
Having broken into the first team early in 2010/11, he followed it up with further substitute appearances in the Carling Cup against Newcastle, where his deployment at the centre of midfield in a 10-man team helped inspire a comeback to 3-3 from 3-1 down, and then at Manchester City in the league, when Carlo Ancelotti entrusted the youngster to help get his side back into the game after falling behind.
He also graduated to the England Under 19 side at the start of 2010/11 campaign, and impressed so much that he was selected for the Under 21 squad by Stuart Pearce for a November friendly against Germany, and came on for the final few minutes.
His full Chelsea league debut came in the final home match of the 2010/11 season, a 2-2 draw at home to Newcastle and in total, he made four starts and 13 sub appearances in campaign with then manager Carlo Ancelotti preferring to use him in a deep midfield role.
Josh was also part of the reserve squad that won the national championship but did not appear in the final play-off due to first-team involvement.
England Under 19s' European Championship tournament ended early at the beginning of the summer with Josh injured before the end but he signed a new five-year contract with Chelsea in July 2011, shortly before embarking on the club's pre-season tour of Asia.
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