Josh McEachran has revealed that he has had people trying to use him when he first broke through at Chelsea.
The former Blues prospect, who now plies his trade at Brentford, made his debut at the age of 17 and was a regular in their travelling party.
However, he was frozen out by Andre Villas-Boas and spent several seasons on loan before joining Brentford in 2015.
And he revealed that he found the going tough as he came through the ranks at Harlington and then Cobham.
“It's tough. You have to be an elite player to make it at Chelsea. If they believe in you, then you get your chance,” McEachran said.
“I had people trying to use me. If you're successful all of a sudden, everyone wants to be your friend. You know who your true friends are. My family brought me up well so that helped a lot.
“It is hard when you're 17, 18 and have people ringing you up saying they can do this and that for you.
“My agent helped me out a lot there. My mum, my dad and agent are people who I can trust so I keep them around me.”
