• ‘Expectation has been hard, but Chelsea are supportive’
• Villas-Boas says teenager’s midfield flexibility is important
Josh McEachran has passed his latest test. Perhaps for the first time since being clad in the kit of a Chelsea first-team player, the teenager had appeared uneasy in the spotlight as he took his seat beside André Villas-Boas in a room on the 11th floor of a plush Hong Kong hotel. Before him sat banks of inquisitors not seeking evidence of footballing ability on the pitch, but of eloquence off it. The flurry of nerves was understandable.
The responses to the questions flung his way were brief if clearly delivered. Who did he admire? “Growing up, Zinedine Zidane. Everything he did on the ball – his touches, his goals – he was just the complete all-round midfielder. When he retired, Frank Lampard and [Andrés] Iniesta.” Where does he prefer to play? “Higher up the pitch, but if the manager sees me as a goalkeeper, I’m happy to play there.” The guarded nature of some of his responses was understandable, with Villas-Boas observing how this club’s bright youngster coped with unfamiliar pressure. He will be better for this experience.
Not much has flummoxed the 18-year-old since he edged quietly and confidently on to the scene under Carlo Ancelotti last season, impressing in cameos whether in European or domestic competition before a first start in the final home game of the campaign against Newcastle. What McEachran lacks in build – he is 5ft 10in and slight of frame – he makes up for in calm authority in possession. His vision and delivery have already marked him out as Chelsea’s answer to the other emerging talent across the capital, Arsenal’s Jack Wilshere. The pair have taken to texting each other best wishes before games. The temptation is to earmark them as national team-mates of the future.
There is still much for the Oxford-born midfielder to experience before the extent of his talent can truly be gauged but, having been smoothly integrated into the first team on the pre-season tour of east Asia, he feels more likely to remain in this squad than seek playing time out on loan. “The flexibility he offers us is important,” Villas-Boas said. “We’ve used him as a No6, where he touches the ball more and can face the play and see attacking options, but he can also play in that No8 further forward. He has the technical and tactical awareness to do well there.” He will be employed as a No8 at some stage against Aston Villa in the final of the Barclays Asia trophy here on Saturday.
Chelsea, who have lavished fortunes in the transfer market under Roman Abramovich, have yearned for home-grown talent to emerge into the senior team. Not since John Terry has the club’s youth set-up yielded an English junior capable of thriving at the top level. McEachran, it should be noted, predates even Frank Arnesen’s revamping of the academy at Cobham, having been associated with the club since the age of eight.
Roberto Di Matteo, the assistant manager, said: “He’s an exceptional talent and has a very bright future, which is good for England as well. He has all the ingredients. He’s technically very good, has good vision and his distribution is excellent. He never really comes under pressure as he gets himself into good positions. He checks and sees what he’s going to do before he receives the ball. In Italy we would feed him pasta to build him up but, as he’s still growing, he’ll get stronger. It depends now if he keeps his head and goes in the right direction. Early indications show that he will.”
It may be the expectation that hampers him most of all. Clubs crave locals who make the grade, elevating them to talismanic status almost overnight. There was frustration last season when Ancelotti, wary that his side were labouring, appeared reluctant to throw the youngster in sooner from the start. In the long run, the Italian’s caution may prove to have been beneficial. If McEachran is still learning how to play the defensive midfield shield, his passing has been as impressive as that of his team-mates over the three pre-season contests in Asia to date. This is a player who rarely feels flustered.
McEachran certainly seems comfortable among the side’s plethora of senior internationals. “My first senior training session was with a couple of other young ones, but [Luiz Felipe] Scolari asked us up,” he said. “I was a bit taken aback by it – I was 15 – but the lads were good to me. The expectation has been quite hard, but Chelsea have been very supportive. They’ve kept me grounded.
“I need to keep my head down, keep training hard and keep progressing. I just want to get more minutes this year. Obviously I’d love those to be at Chelsea. It’s not really up to me, but it’s up to André. If he thinks I’m ready to play for Chelsea, I’ll stay. If he thinks I need to go out on loan, I’ll do that.”
That was offered up as a stream of consciousness, perhaps the only moment the teenager’s guard truly dropped. The club could yet decide a spell of regular football elsewhere in the top flight might suit, just as Wilshere gained from six months with Bolton, but McEachran’s future is clearly at Stamford Bridge.
ChelseaDominic Fifieldguardian.co.uk
