CONSIDERING he is being talked about as one of England football’s future stars, Josh McEachran is remarkable relaxed.

The 17-year-old, from Kirtlington, is the envy of almost every teenager in the country.

But despite his meteoric rise, here is somebody whose mind is totally focused on his love.

Even the most outstanding talents in the game would have struggled to match McEachran’s personal triumph in the past six months.

A member of the England Under 17 team that won the European Championships in Liechtenstein, beating Spain in the final, McEachran hoped that his performances there would make his club’s manager take note.

“At the start of the season, my aim was just to try and make my Chelsea debut,” he said.

“Just coming on for any game this season was my ultimate ambition.”

But it’s already better than that.

McEachran was named as a substitute for Chelsea’s Champions League game against MSZ Zilina.

And his first appearance on the bench, turned into his first appearance for the first team.

“We had our team meeting a couple of hours before the game,” he explained.

“He put the team on the slide show and I was just shocked to see that I had been named on the bench.”

With Chelsea 4–1 up, the call came 11 minutes from time.

He outlined: “I was warming up and then got the call from Ray Wilkins.

“I went back to the bench, was given my instructions, and got on.

“It was such a good feeling – it’s hard to explain.”

And it has just got better and better.

With Chelsea 3-1 down against Newcastle in the Carling Cup, McEachran was again sent on by boss Carlo Ancelotti.

His performance – despite Chelsea losing the game 4-3 – was to draw high praise.

Substitute appearances were now becoming more and more regular and the level of interest in him from media was rising.

His performances had been of such a standard that Stuart Pearce named McEachran in the England Under 21 squad to play Germany a fortnight ago.

And although the result of the match proved disappointing – England lost 2-0 – it was to prove another pivotal moment in McEachran’s career.

With just three minutes remaining, he was brought on to collect his first cap.

A week later, with Chelsea already guaranteed qualification from the Champions League group, Ancelotti announced that McEachran would start in the return match against MSZ Zilina.

Although the team were very much below-par in the opening 45 minutes, one Chelsea player stood out – McEachran.

“It was a big night for me,” he said. “As soon as I saw we were kicking off, I went up to Didier Drogba and asked him to play it back, to give me an early touch.

“He did just that, and I was more relaxed straight away.”

McEachran admits that it is a far cry from when he was like any other seven–year–old, dreaming of being a professional footballer.

He joined Chelsea at eight, and has never looked back.

“Like most kids, I was always kicking a ball and wanting to play as often as possible,” he said “I trained a couple of times with Oxford United when I was very young, but when Chelsea came along it was just amazing.

“You do have to give up so much with your friends and other stuff, but it is all worth it in the end.”

McEachran has played at Chelsea right through their centre of excellence and academy.

But he said that his elevation this season has really come about because of Ancelotti.

“Carlo likes to give younger players an opportunity to play and that means everyone in the academy, and the ones coming through, know that if they are good enough, they might get a chance,” he said.

“Carlo has given everyone in the club a huge lift.”

Surely, however, he still has to pinch himself when he is standing in the tunnel surrounded by megastars?

“It does still give me goosebumps,” he said.

“But the England lads in the team, John Terry, Frank Lampard and Ashley Cole have been really great and helped me a lot.

“When I first started to train with the first team I was just like ‘wow, look at these players’.

“I suppose it’s sort of normal now and I am just so happy to be involved.

“I just have to keep working hard, keep going and see where I can get.”

Being part of the Chelsea first-team squad means added pressure though.

And McEachran says that is another area where the manager is outstanding.

“I’m only 17, but Carlo is just so very supportive and just tells me to go and enjoy myself,” he added.

“As a player, that helps put you at ease a bit, and means you don’t get too nervous.

“There are nerves because you are playing in front of so many people for such a big team, but having Carlo telling you to relax and just play football helps so much.”

But how far does he think he can go?

“All I want to do is keep playing football,” he said.

“I just want to play as much as I can for Chelsea, and hopefully if I do okay there, I can play more for England Under 21s.”

Surely he has thought of England’s first team?

“I just want to keep progressing, playing for Chelsea and see what happens,” he said.

“I am only 17, so have loads of time ahead of me, and so hopefully I can just keep doing well for Chelsea.”

Even if he won’t admit that England’s first team looks a very real possibility – some might say a certainty – in future years, McEachran’s temperament and calmness is sure to stand him in good stead.

And look out for an Oxford lad bossing the midfield in England’s 2018 World Cup campaign.