Former Swindon Town midfielder George McEachran has joined one of their League Two promotion rivals in Chesterfield.
Following a slow start to the summer, transfers are starting to happen thick and fast across League Two, and Chesterfield have completed their second signing of the summer in McEachran, following the arrival of Junior Eccleston for an undisclosed fee from Sutton United.
With Sammy Braybrooke having returned to Leicester City after a strong loan spell and John Fleck having left at the end of his contract, Chesterfield will be needing reinforcements in midfield, and have done so with McEachran.
The former Chelsea youngster and Under-17 World Cup winner with England made 58 appearances in 18 months at Swindon, having initially been brought in by Jody Morris, who he played under in the youth teams at Chelsea.
Read more
Possible signings in surprising area of need for Swindon this summer
Two reasons Ward believes Swindon will be better set for promotion next season
'I thought he would be a Premier League player': What to expect from Negru
He was always a solid performer for Swindon, although was part of the team that, under Michael Flynn and then Gavin Gunning, achieved their lowest-ever finish in the four-tier structure.
He then departed and joined Grimsby Town, where he thrived and won the club’s Player of the Season award in his first season, although was less prominent last term.
Having left one of the defeated playoff semi-finalists from last season, the 25-year-old has now joined the other in Chesterfield, and it was defeats against both in the final two games that saw Swindon miss out on the playoffs last season.
With Swindon looking to challenge for promotion, The Spireites are one of the teams they will have to overcome, as they have been in the post-season in both campaigns since their promotion from the National League.
In the initial bookmaker odds for League Two, Chesterfield were level with Salford City for the fourth-best odds, whilst Swindon were further down the pecking order, with the joint-tenth-best odds.
McEachran said: “I was buzzing when I heard from my agent that Chesterfield were interested, so I can’t wait to get started.
“Having come up against them during my time at Grimsby, I always found them a difficult side to play against, but it suits my style of play, so I think Chesterfield will suit me well.
“The club has a clear ambition to achieve promotion to League One. I fell short of promotion with Grimsby last season, as Chesterfield did, so hopefully we can go one step further and get promoted this year.”
