Josh McEachran: I turned down Real Madrid as a teenager to stay with Chelsea but I am excited about Brentford challenge

Josh McEachran will run out at Griffin Park in a fortnight’s time for Brentford’s Championship opener with Ipswich – but had things been different he could have been preparing for the new season alongside Cristiano Ronaldo and Gareth Bale at Real Madrid.

The 22-year-old left Chelsea this summer for the Championship after 15 years at Stamford Bridge to kick-start his career away from the Premier League champions.

But he could have left a few years ago when European giants Real Madrid tried to sign him and was flattered by the lengths they were prepared to go to convince him to move to the Spanish capital.

He said: ‘I was 15 or 16 at the time and Chelsea offered me a very good contract. But Real showed interest in me and were going to fly my family out to Spain.

‘And when Real Madrid want to sign you then it is very tempting.

‘But in the end I chose to stay at Chelsea because they were my team and I had been there since such a young age.'

But now McEachran’s Chelsea career has ended and he is looking forward to progressing away from the spotlight.

‘I think it's going to be good for me to be away from Chelsea,’ he added. ‘It's a chance for me to settle at a club and play some games.

‘The Chelsea badge has been taken off me now so there is not as much pressure because they are one of the biggest clubs in the world.

‘Now I am at Brentford, there is still a lot of pressure because the expectations are so big, but I am excited to be here and looking forward to just playing football.’

McEachran is the latest in a long line of players to come through the Chelsea academy yet no one has been able to establish themselves in the side since John Terry at the beginning of the century.

But while the midfielder says it is harder now than ever for young players to break into the first team, he feels Ruben Loftus-Cheek has as good a chance as any.

He added: ‘The last player to come through was John Terry but a few have been getting a sniff like Ruben and there are a few that have gone on the pre-season tour this season.

‘But it is a lot harder than it was a few years ago with all the money involved and stuff but if you are good enough you will have to play.

‘You just need the manager to trust you and rely on you. But the youngsters coming through at the moment definitely have a chance.

‘The advice I would give is you haven't done anything until you're at JT's level. With all the trophies, caps for England so if you are a 17 year-old lad going on pre-season you haven't really done anything. You just need to strive to what the others are doing.’