Bees sign Premier League midfield player

Brentford have signed former England Under-21 midfield player Josh McEachran from Chelsea for an undisclosed fee.

The 22-year-old has also represented his country at Under-20, Under-19, Under-17 and Under-16 level and helped England win the European Under-17 Championships in 2010, earning a place in the team of the tournament.

He was also in the England Under-21 squad at the 2013 European Championships.

Josh has been with Chelsea since he was seven-years-old and progressed through to the First Team at the West London side.

He has played 22 games for The Blues with 11 of them in the Premier League and six in the Champions League.

He has also had loan spells at Swansea City, where he played four more Premier League games, and in the Championship with Middlesbrough, Watford and Wigan Athletic.

Josh spent last season at Vitesse Arnhem and played 21 matches in the Dutch top flight, helping them finish fifth in the table and earn a place in the Europa League.

Marinus Dijkhuizen, Brentford Head Coach, said: "Josh is a versatile midfield player who can play in a holding role and as a playmaker. He was a big talent at Chelsea and now I look forward to working with him and our coaching staff in order to take Josh on to the next level.

“Although he played at Vitesse last season, he has good experience of English football and will be able to fit into our playing style very quickly."

Josh has signed a four-year contract after passing a medical.

He will fly out to Portugal today, Friday 10 July, to link up with the Brentford squad a on a pre-season training camp.

Phil Giles, Brentford FC Co-Director of Football, said: "Josh is a player who our scouting team followed closely during the second half of last season. We quickly recommended him to Marinus, who of course knew Josh from his time in Dutch football and was quick to add his agreement to the discussion to proceed with the transfer.

“We are sure Josh can continue to develop and that, at 22, he still has many great seasons ahead of him. We welcome him to Brentford and to pre-season training in Portugal."

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