Chelsea youth coach Dermot Drummy is perfectly placed to compare their whizkid Josh McEachran with Arsenal's Jack Wilshere.
Before taking a job with the Chelsea Academy, Drummy (pictured below) was at Arsenal where he coached Wilshere between the ages of 12 to 14. There are few better placed to assess the two players.
"Both are very intelligent footballers and technically they are very gifted," Drummy told the Official Chelsea Website.
"They see things on the pitch that even the coaches don't see and they have the ability to do something different while also keeping it simple and making it look easy.
"They both find time on the ball because of their peripheral vision. These type of midfielders are rare in the English game in that they can turn and play in tight areas because they see everything that is happening around them.
"Wilshere from a young age was always doing well and if he had a problem on the pitch he would very quickly find his own solution, and he always had a passion and loved to train.
"From when I first coached Josh he had ability to do something different and do it with grace. It never fazes Josh, he is always in control. He didn't seem to have so much desire but he has acquired that. I think he realised that was an area where he needed to improve and he is now performing at the highest level.
"And make no mistake, they can both put their foot in as well and Josh has surprised me in the first team in how many times he has nicked the ball. Wilshere I had to stop from going overboard when he was younger but he had that winning mentality. Josh has added that to his game. Once again he has gone to the next level and found out what he needed to do."
Drummy sees no tactical reason why they could not operate in the same side for their country in the future.
"People should never get hung up on left-sided and right-sided. It is more of a rotational midfield in the modern game and we have to move away from the idea of static positions."
