Andre Villas Boas burst onto the scene as a manager at FC Porto in 2010 and initially showed a lot of promise. It was believed that he would go on to achieve great things in football, so it was considered a smart move when Chelsea hired the Portuguese man to take over at Stamford Bridge in 2011.
He was regarded as a prodigy and while he was young, the Blues were prepared to take a gamble and locked him down to a long-term contract. Things didn't go to plan, though, and he was let go just months later and his managerial career never really recovered. He spent time at Tottenham Hotspur, in Russia, China and France over the next decade, but never succeeded at an elite level.
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These days, he's the President of FC Porto and seems to have called time on his career as a manager. He's an infamous figure at Chelsea for the issues he had there, and one thing he's remembered for is his statement that one player had the ability to become the next Luka Modric. A claim that didn't pan out well considering the midfielder never earned a single cap for his country.
Andre Villas Boas Thought Josh McEachran Could Be the Next Modric
He had high hopes for the midfielder
Shortly after his arrival at Chelsea in the summer of 2011, Villas Boas spoke publicly about one of the club's young stars at the time, Josh McEachran. He was very excited about the prospect's talent. As quoted by The Sun, he said:
"This is a youngster with so much talent. Physique-wise, there is nothing to him at the moment. In the changing room you see him getting ready to go and train and he looks nothing like a footballer.
"His power and pace is in his head. But you could say the same about Luka Modric, Jack Wilshere or Samir Nasri. All are built with slight physiques but they are all among the finest midfield players in the world."
McEachran famously turned down Real Madrid as a youngster to continue his development at Chelsea. It was a gamble, but it was one that didn't ultimately pay off. After a handful of loans, and just 22 first-team appearances for the Blues, the Englishman left Stamford Bridge in 2015 and joined Brentford on a permanent deal. He had a solid run with the Bees and spent four years with them. He left in 2019, however, and has since had spells with Birmingham City and MK Dons.
These days, he's just been released by Championship side Oxford United after two years with the team, while Modric only recently called time on his Real Madrid tenure. Considering he never even managed to play for the England national team, it's safe to say McEachran didn't quite reach the heights of the Croatian.
All statistics courtesy of Transfermarkt and accurate as of 29/06/2025