On loan Chelsea star wants Boro stay
On loan midfielder Josh McEachran looks set to stay with Middlesbrough for the rest of the season, after Tony Mowbray suggested that positive talks have taken place with Chelsea.
There had been concerns that due to a change of management at Stamford Bridge, the 19 year-old may have been given a chance to impress Rafael Benítez due to a clause in the loan contract that enables both clubs to review whether they want the loan to continue beyond January.
However, after talking to Blues representative Eddie Newton it appears that Mowbray will be able to keep the talented midfielder for the rest of the campaign as his side look to secure promotion back to the Premier League.
“Eddie visited us last week, he watched training and I had lunch with him,” he said.
“He watched Josh and I had a chat with him and he said to me they’ve got no intention of taking him back.
“They are happy that he’s here playing - he just wanted to see how Josh is feeling and he talked to me about how I felt he was doing.
“He was assistant manager but his job now is to liaise with all the loan players Chelsea have got so he’s been running the rule over Josh.
“He’s not Rafa Benítez, of course, but he told me the club’s policy is not to take Josh back.”
The news should be a welcome boost to Boro, with the club sitting in a good position in the Npower Championship and McEachran contributing to an attractive passing style installed the team.
An extended stay on Teesside should also be beneficial for the England Under 21 star’s development, with regular football sure to help his progression into the player he has the ability to become.
With other young English talents such as Jack Rodwell and Scott Sinclair not getting game-time at top Premier League clubs, it just goes to show that many players are better off playing regular minutes than warming the bench.
With McEachran at the Riverside Stadium for the foreseeable future, both Middlesbrough and the player can focus on getting the Club back to the promised land which can only be good news for all involved.
The Championship is so tight and is very difficult to bet on as it is almost impossible to predict what is going to happen.
