McEachran wants Middlesbrough stay

On-loan Chelsea midfielder Josh McEachran says he wants to continue his stay at Middlesbrough until the end of the current campaign.

And McEachran hopes new Chelsea manager Rafa Benitez sees the benefit he is getting from playing regular first-team football at the Riverside.

Despite wanting to remain in the Championship for now, the teenager’s dream has always been to play for Chelsea.

“I’ve been at Chelsea since the age of seven and I’ve grown up there. It’s always been my dream to play regular first-team football there,” McEachran told the Daily Mirror.

“But at present, I’d like to stay here for the rest of the season. We’ve got a genuine chance of going up and I want to be part of it.

“There’s a long way to go this season and a lot could happen but we have a really good manager here and I like the way he wants to play.”

The midfielder has been one of the Boro’s key players this season, but is yet to open his scoring account.

“Sooner or later I will get one. I came here to play games and that’s exactly what I’m doing. The standard of the Championship has impressed me and I’m getting a lot out of it,” McEachran said.

“We’re playing two games a week and it’s really intensive, but it’s improving me as a player.”

Middlesbrough sit third in the Championship, and will look to further their aim of returning to the top flight when they travel to St Andrews to face Birmingham City on Friday.