George McEachran arrives to make the final promotion step with Chesterfield

The defensive midfielder, who checked in on a two-year contract, made 43 appearances for the Mariners as they finished a place behind the Spireites in League Two last term and fell short in the play-offs.

He turned out 49 times for them the season before that, ending it as the club’s Player of the Year award.

“Chesterfield has a good squad with good players and good facilities and with a clear ambition to achieve promotion to League One,” said the Oxford-born operator who spent 13 years in the academy at Chelsea.

"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.

“I am looking forward to going to the Erwin training ground every day because the facilities are good and so are the training pitches, so I’m excited to be here.”

McEachran is the club’s second signing in as many days along with Junior Eccleston from Sutton United.

The newest addition isn’t prolific, scoring twice in his time with Grimsby, but he has experience home and abroad and is approaching what should be his peak years.

He made nearly 60 appearances for Swindon before signing for Grimsby and also played in Holland in loan spells with SC Cambuur and MVV Maastricht.

He was also part of the Young Lions squad that won the 2017 FIFA U17 World Cup in India.

Chesterfield’s assistant manager, Danny Webb, described McEachran as a “highly intelligent player with excellent awareness on the pitch”.

"His experience in League Two will be a real asset to the squad. He is perfectly suited to our style of play, so we’re excited to see the impact he will make,” said.

McEachran added: “I was buzzing when I heard from my agent that Chesterfield were interested.

"Having come up against them during my time at Grimsby, I always found them a difficult side to play against. They suit my style of play.”