And McEachran hopes new Chelsea manager Rafa Benitez sees the benefit he is getting from playing regular first-team football at the Riverside.

Despite wanting to remain in the Championship for now, the teenager's dream has always been to play for Chelsea.

"I've been at Chelsea since the age of seven and I've grown up ther," McEachran told the Daily Mirror. "It's always been my dream to play regular first-team football there."

"But at present, I'd like to stay here for the rest of the season. We've got a genuine chance of going up and I want to be part of it.

"There's a long way to go this season and a lot could happen but we have a really good manager here and I like the way he wants to play."

The midfielder has been one of the Boro's key players this season, but is yet to open his scoring account.

"Sooner or later I will get one," he said. "I came here to play games and that's exactly what I'm doing. The standard of the Championship has impressed me and I'm getting a lot out of it.

"We're playing two games a week and it's really intensive, but it's improving me as a player."