Premier League newcomers Aston Villa were tipped to sign Dean Smith favourite Josh McEachren – he’s now on trial at Championship outift Birmingham.
At the start of the summer transfer window, Josh McEachran was being linked with a move to Premier League newcomers Aston Villa. Now, he could be about to sign for the club on the other half of the Second City divide.
Birmingham City confirmed on their official Twitter account on Monday that McEachren is on trial at St Andrews with the midfielder starting for The Blues’ U23s against Bristol City with the number four on his back.
The 26-year-old is still a free agent after his Brentford contract expired in the summer and, for whatever reason, no one has taken a chance on a player who, on paper at least, is one of the Championship’s most gifted playmakers.
Villa coach Dean Smith is certainly a big fan of a player who, once upon a time, was featuring in the Champions League for Chelsea at the age of just 17.
The Sun claimed in May that Smith was interested in reuniting with McEachren at Villa Park, having worked with the former England U21 international at Griffin Park.
“(McEachran) can see openings on the pitch that people up in the TV gantry can’t see,” Smith told The Times back in September 2018, pointing out about his ability to produce something out of nothing.
Aston Villa decided instead to plug the gaps in midfield by signing the likes of Douglas Luiz and Marvellous Nakamba, leaving McEachren in limbo.
But a club based just a few miles down the road could be about to come to his rescue. And it is not hard to imagine the velvet-toed McEachren thriving at the heart of a Pep Clotet midfield.
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