Bees new boy Josh McEachran may have been playing for Real Madrid by now, had he not been a self-confessed Chelsea fanatic.

The 22-year-old, who made his Blues debut as a 17-year-old, came close to switching to the Bernabeu as a teenager, but turned down the Spanish club’s advances to remain at Stamford Bridge.

“At the time I was at Chelsea and they had offered me a very good contract. I was about 15 or 16,” he said.

“Real Madrid were going to fly my family out, but I chose Chelsea because I’m a Chelsea supporter and I’d been there since I was such a young age.

“When Real Madrid want to sign you it is very flattering, but I decided to sign for Chelsea.”

McEachran went on to learn his trade alongside the likes of Blues legends Frank Lampard, Didier Drogba and former England captain John Terry and names them as big influences on his career.

He has been handed football’s iconic number 10 shirt at Brentford after ending his nomadic loan existence at the Bridge earlier this month.

That alone signifies a more settled future for the former England U21 international and the way he inherited the shirt from Moses Odubajo suggests he finally fits in.

“I’ve been playing football since I was seven. I always wanted to be a footballer. That was my dream,” he said.

“I play football for a job now. I never fell out of love with the game.

“It is going to be good for me to play games here. I feel settled even though I have only been here for two weeks. The lads have made me feel welcome.”

He added: “I just chose the number to be fair.

“The right back played number 10 last season and he said he can’t play right back as a number 10. He is number two now, so when 10 came up I had it. It is my favourite number.

“At Chelsea I was number 20 and at Vitesse Arnhem I was number six. This is the first time I’ve been number 10.”