Chelsea Reserves and youth A
midfielder, McEachran began playing football for Garden City in the Oxford Mail Boys League, where he was spotted by a
Chelsea scout. He joined
the Blues' academy at the age of seven. He signed a two-year scholarship deal before the beginning of the
2009–10 season and helped the Blues' youth team win the
FA Youth Cup for the first time in 50 years. Their achievement meant that the entire squad collectively won Chelsea's Young Player of the Year award. He also broke into the
reserve team and made 9
Premier Reserve League appearances. He made sporadic appearances for the reserves during the
2011–12 and
2013–14 seasons.
First team McEachran received his first exposure to the first team during the 2009–10 season, when he travelled with the squad to a
League Cup fifth round match versus
Blackburn Rovers in December 2009, and he trained with the first team throughout the first half of 2010. McEachran was named in Chelsea's
Champions League squad for the
2010–11 season and received his maiden call when he was named as a substitute for a group stage match versus
MŠK Žilina on 15 September 2010. He made his senior debut when he replaced
Yossi Benayoun after 79 minutes of the 4–1 victory. McEachran made his
Premier League debut on 25 September in a 1–0 defeat to
Manchester City, replacing
Ramires after 81 minutes. On 15 July 2011, McEachran signed a new five-year contract and scored his first senior goal for the club in the
friendly 2011 Premier League Asia Trophy final versus
Aston Villa two weeks later. McEachran made just five appearances during the
2011–12 season and was frozen out by new manager
André Villas-Boas. From January 2012 onwards, he spent much of his subsequent Chelsea career away on
loan and was not called into a squad before departing from
Stamford Bridge on 10 July 2015. McEachran made 22 appearances and scored no goals during five seasons as a senior player at Chelsea.
Loan to Swansea City On 17 January 2012, McEachran completed a loan move to Premier League newcomers
Swansea City until the end of the
2011–12 season. He made his debut in a 2–0 defeat to
Sunderland on 21 January, coming off the bench in the 66th minute for
Gylfi Sigurðsson. After dropping back to the bench, he finished his spell with just five appearances.
Loan to Middlesbrough On 20 August 2012, McEachran joined
Championship club
Middlesbrough on loan for the entirety of the
2012–13 season. He made his debut for Middlesbrough the next day, playing the full 90 minutes of a 3–2 victory over
Burnley. He made 38 appearances during a season in which Middlesbrough challenged for a playoff place, McEachran was voted by the Boro supporters as the club's Young Player of the Year.
Loan to Watford On 20 September 2013, McEachran joined Championship side
Watford on loan until 2 January 2014, with an option to extend the loan until the end of the
2013–14 season. His debut came four days later with a start in the
League Cup third round versus
Norwich City, McEachran made just eight appearances for Watford before returning to Stamford Bridge when his initial loan expired.
Loan to Wigan Athletic On 23 January 2014, McEachran signed with Championship club
Wigan Athletic on loan until the end of the
2013–14 season. The
Manchester Evening News reported that he had taken a wage cut to go to the
DW Stadium and manager
Uwe Rösler commented that McEachran was "not at his best, so we have to make sure he recovers form, he recovers confidence and he is capable of performing consistently at a high tempo in the modern way of football". McEachran began his spell with regular substitute appearances and after building up his fitness he made something of a breakthrough into the starting lineup, making seven starts from late February through to the end of the season. After a fifth-place finish in the Championship saw the Latics qualify for the
playoffs, he was left out of the squad for both legs of the semi-finals versus
Queens Park Rangers, which resulted in a 2–1 aggregate defeat. McEachran finished his spell with 11 appearances. One week later, McEachran made his debut, coming off the bench in the 74th minute for
Marko Vejinović during a 2–1 defeat to
PEC Zwolle. McEachran made sporadic appearances and spent time in the reserves, before breaking into the starting lineup in April 2015. Four of those starts came in the Eredivisie European competition playoffs, with McEachran helping Vitesse to see off PEC Zwolle and
Heerenveen to qualify for a place in the
2015–16 UEFA Europa League third qualifying round. He finished the campaign with 21 appearances. reported to be £750,000. On 25 July, it was announced that McEachran would be out for three months after suffering a
fractured foot in a collision in training with
Toumani Diagouraga. He finally made his debut as a substitute versus
Cardiff City on 15 December and made his first start in a 2–1 victory over
Reading two weeks later. By mid-January 2016, McEachran was an ever-present starter and made 15 further appearances before his season was ended through a re-fracture of his foot during a training session on 24 March 2016. He began the
2016–17 pre-season fully fit, but again injuries and fitness problems prevented him from holding down a starting place once the regular season got underway. By January 2017, McEachran had broken into the starting lineup and was showing his best form since joining the club, but he was ruled out for the rest of the season after suffering an ankle ligament injury during a 2–1 win over
Sheffield Wednesday on 21 February. McEachran returned fit for the
2017–18 pre-season, but managed just four appearances early in the regular season before suffering a leg injury during a 2–2 draw with
Bristol City on 15 August 2017. He returned to match play one month later and alternated between a starting and a substitute role until the end of the season, which he finished with 28 appearances. McEachran began the
2018–19 season as an ever-present starter in league matches and scored the first professional goal of his career with the equaliser in a 1–1 draw with
Birmingham City on 2 October 2018. He reverted to a substitute role after
Kamohelo Mokotjo's return from injury in early December after making 28 appearances during the season, He finished his Brentford career with 101 appearances and one goal. After spending several weeks regaining match fitness, he made his debut on 22 October as a second-half substitute in the Championship match against
Blackburn Rovers which Birmingham won 1–0. He made nine appearances, including six starts, over the next three months, and he returned to fitness in November. In January 2021, he was one of three midfielders removed from the oversized first-team squad, and he left the club by mutual consent on 31 January.
Milton Keynes Dons After training with the club, initially for fitness, McEachran signed a short-term contract with
League One club
Milton Keynes Dons on 1 March 2021 until the end of the season. On 29 July 2021, McEachran signed a new deal keeping him at the club for the
2021–22 season, and on 17 June 2022 extended his contract again taking him into his third season with the club.
Oxford United McEachran joined League One club
Oxford United on 1 July 2023 after his MK Dons contract expired. Following promotion through the play-offs, He was released at the end of that season.
Bristol Rovers On 30 June 2025, McEachran joined League Two club
Bristol Rovers on a two-year contract. ==International career==