The Blues academy product was tipped for big success during his early days at Stamford Bridge.
But the midfielder’s career never kicked on at Chelsea after Carlo Ancelotti’s departure in 2011, and the 23-year-old eventually joined Brentford permanently in 2015.
McEachran will return to where it all began on Saturday when the Championship outfit face their west London rivals in the FA Cup fourth round (3pm).
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Josh McEachran will return to Chelsea with Brentford on Saturday in the FA Cup
With the ex-England Under-21 international now plying his trade at Brentford, he opened up ahead of this weekend’s tie about how his career could have panned out very differently.
“I was 16, at Chelsea, and my agent at the time said: ‘Real Madrid want you’,” McEachran told The Telegraph.
“It’s unbelievable, isn’t it? At that age.
“I had the chance to go to Real Madrid or Man United.
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Former Real Madrid and Manchester United target Josh McEachran struggled to break through at Chelsea
Real Madrid had the contract waiting for me and they wanted all my family to fly over
Josh McEachran
“Real Madrid had the contract waiting for me and they wanted all my family to fly over but I said: ‘No, I want to stay at Chelsea’. I was a Chelsea fan.”
When asked why he said no, laughing he added: “Yeah, I know! I don’t know!
“I just knew, I just believed in myself that I was going to make it [at Chelsea].
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Carlo Ancelotti's sacking in 2011 saw Josh McEachran's difficulties begin at Chelsea
“Under [manager] Carlo [Ancelotti], when I made my debut I was like, saying to myself ‘ah, that was a good choice for me to say no to Real Madrid’ but looking back now maybe I should have (gone)!”
McEachran is not bitter about how his time at boyhood club Chelsea came to an end though, as Jose Mourinho was the one to eventually let him go.
An array of loan spells failed to earn him a regular spot in the Blues’ first team, but McEachran could come back to haunt Antonio Conte’s side on Saturday.
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