As a nineteen year old, breaking
into the first team of a Premier League side is a task fraught with challenges. Breaking
into a Premier League team which is challenging for major domestic and European
honours, is even harder. Throw into the mix a team which is comprised of
multi-million pound superstars, and you have the impressive feat which Josh McEachran
has achieved in his short time at Chelsea.
McEachran is deployed mainly as a
central or attacking midfielder. He thrives when he has but a few feet of space
to control the ball, and either take on the defender or lay on a pass for a
team mate. However, such is the strength in depth at Chelsea,
the opportunity to play in his favoured attacking role were few and far between
at Stamford Bridge.
It is for this reason that then Chelsea
manager, Villas-Boas, allowed McEachran to join Swansea
City on loan for the remainder of
the season.
Since the switch, McEachran has
only featured five times for the Swans, but that isn’t to say he is not one to
watch for the future. He already has eight England Under21 caps to his name, and
captained the national side at Under16 level. In the games that he has played
this season, though, McEachran has impressed.
The young Chelsea
midfielder has an abundance of technical ability; his playing style has been
compared to the likes of Samir Nasri and Luka Modric. In this sense, he is in a
similar class to another exciting English talent, Jack Wilshere, in that they
are not the typical box-to-box England
midfielder. McEachran does not embark upon lustrous runs into the channels, but
instead plays cute one-twos and short, snappy passes as a means of progressing
up the pitch. A product of the Chelsea
academy, it is evident to see that English coaches are attempting to blood
youngsters into the Barcelona style
of football.
McEachran’s diminutive physique
ensures that he will never contain much of a psychical presence. However, this
is actually an underrated attribute in the modern game. McEachran often draws
opposition players into fouling him, and when in those tiny pockets of space, players
afford him that extra split second on the ball for fear of getting booked or
sent off.
So, whilst McEachran is still
many years from his peak, he has already illustrated glimpses of the magic we
can expect to see in years to come. If he is to continue to work with former Chelsea
coach Brendan Rogers in Wales,
it would be a safe man’s bet to put money on McEachran playing a major role for
Chelsea and England
in the future.
Written by Sam Balls
Brief Biography:
I am a final year English student at the University of Portsmouth. I am extremely passionate about sport, and my burning ambition is to write for a national newspaper. You can find my blog at: samuelballs.wordpress.com or follow me on twitter: @Sam_Balls
