JOSH McEachran believes his younger brother Zac has what it takes to play as high as Sky Bet League One.

Older sibling Josh has joined Oxford United after his exit from MK Dons, as he links up with his hometown side for the first time in his career.

The Chelsea academy graduate – who made 22 appearances for the Blues – grew up in Kirtlington and played for Kidlington side Garden City.

READ ALSO: Midfield ace aiming for promotion with hometown side

The 30-year-old midfielder has two younger brothers in football, with 27-year-old Zac at Oxford City and 22-year-old George at Swindon Town.

Due to the Hoops’ 3G artificial pitch at Court Place Farm being relaid this summer, City and United are not playing their customary pre-season fixture, something McEachran was disappointed to miss out on.

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“Zac’s been at Oxford City for years and he’s happy that I’ve signed for Oxford United,” said the U’s summer signing.

“We usually play them in a pre-season friendly, so I was gutted that we didn’t get the opportunity to play them this pre-season. I speak to my brothers literally every day.”

Hoops midfielder Zac scored one and got two assists in the 4-0 thumping of St Albans City, as Ross Jenkins’ side secured promotion in the Vanarama National League South play-off final in May.

He scored 11 times for City last season as they charged towards promotion, while he also surpassed the 250-appearance mark for the club.

A key player in the Hoops side, McEachran was named both the supporters’ and players’ player of the season at the club’s end of season awards, and also won a place in the National League South team of the season.

Asked how far his talented younger brother can go, Josh said: “It’s completely up to Zac I think, he’s quite comfortable now he’s got a job working in a school and Oxford City are still part-time.

“I think he did have the opportunity to go other National League sides this summer, but he chose to stay at Oxford City.

“I think they’ll have a good season because they’ve kept the core of their squad.

“It’s genuinely up to Zac, I watched him a few times last season and his quality shines through really.

“There’s no reason why he can’t step into League Two and possibly even League One.”

On his own journey, McEachran revealed the chance to play for his hometown team has only ever come up once before, when he was a child.

He said: “When I was really young, when I was six or seven, I was at Garden City and I played one game for Oxford United.

“I wasn’t signed, they offered me something but then Chelsea came in and I chose to go to Chelsea.

“Any young kid, if a Premier League team wants you, then it’s hard to say no.

“After that, there hasn’t been many opportunities to come here.

“When Oxford came in though, I was delighted.”

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About the author

To sign up to Liam’s latest Oxford United newsletter for free, click here: https://www.oxfordmail.co.uk/newsletters/

Formerly the politics reporter for the Oxford Mail, Liam now covers all things Oxford United.

Liam attends the U’s home and away, as well as covering other big sports stories across the county.

His Oxford United newsletter is released every Saturday morning at 6am.