CHELSEA manager Andre Villas-Boas has laid down a stark challenge to Josh McEachran and the rest of his underperforming youngsters and launched a savage attack on the way youth football is set up in this country.
Willowy McEachran is the latest graduate from the Chelsea academy and is rated highly but, in competing against big-money signings such as Raul Meireles and Ramires, he has made only 11 appearances in two years.
Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich has poured millions into the academy in the past eight years, bringing in talent from all over the world.
This week the club signed three brothers from Luton, twins Rio and Cole Dasilva, 12, and brother Jay, 13, each for five-figure fees.
But the last player to come through and establish a regular first-team place at the Bridge was John Terry, who turned pro in 1999.
Villas-Boas said: “Josh could be ready for first-team football here if he does well at Swansea. We’ll have to wait and see.
“He has to triumph in a difficult place. Swansea are doing well. He has to make an impact. But he is good enough.
“Players who go out on loan have to triumph. They have to show they are capable in a difficult environment. With the playing time Josh will get, we will have another vision of his talent. If he flourishes, we will call him back.”
Two other Chelsea players went out on loan this week, with midfielder Gael Kakuta joining French club Dijon after fruitless spells at Fulham and Bolton, and defender Patrick van Aanholt going to Vitesse Arnhem.
All too often, these players have failed to make the grade and disappeared into the lower divisions.
Villas-Boas believes the whole set-up of youth football in this country is flawed and advocates the establishment of feeder clubs as they have in Spain, where Real Madrid youngsters are farmed out to Castilla, and Barcelona’s B team play in the second division.
“The youth development system in England is not right. The reserve-team league is not competitive. The youth levels are not competitive,” he said.
“There should be national championships played between teams. The older players in each age group should play nationally; the younger ones regionally. Competition generates talent.
“There is talent here at Chelsea. There is a generation coming. Players such as Josh and Ryan Bertrand are not in the team at the moment because they need to make the hardest jump yet.
“The one who really makes it, makes it into a great player. And that is hard. John Terry made it as one of the best central defenders in the world. Oriol Romeu is triumphing in this environment, but he came from the second division in Spain.
“The gap between the reserve team and the first team is immense here. Barcelona B though, where Oriol came from, play in the equivalent of the Championship.
“Buying a feeder club could be a solution. There is more of a cultural identity if it’s called a B team. Barcelona are a good model. They promote talent.
“The English model is not working in our case. If the talent was available in a competitive league you could call up players when you needed them. If your B team played in the Championship, for example, then that would be good.
“If Ryan and Josh could make the jump from Championship to Premier League, their involvement would be greater.”
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