Oxford United’s experienced defender Michael Duberry believes Josh McEachran has the potential to go right to the top.

The 18-year-old Chelsea midfielder, who hails from Kirtlington, near Oxford, this week joined Premiership side Swansea on loan in a bid to get more first-team football and experience under his belt.

And Duberry, who made 116 appearances for Chelsea between 1993-99, believes that the talented youngster can make a big impression.

“He’s a very good player,” Duberry said. “He has trained among top-class players and can get better from that.

“It’s about the individual, but he has the potential to go very far. I know people at Chelsea and they do rate him very highly.”

And Duberry says that although the Blues have the money to buy big-name stars, he believes that they will try and keep players like McEachran.

“Chelsea will buy to keep up with the others, but sometimes clubs want to keep a core of English players and not lose their identity,” he added.

“They want to push the English players through, and it looks like he has got a chance of going far.”