article: It is fair to say Cameron McGeehan was not your average 10-year-old footballer. Dreams did not turn into glory at Stamford Bridge, but a decade later, and playing first-team football every week in League Two with Luton Town, the Football League's Young Player of the Month award for February proves McGeehan is making strides back towards the top of the game. Looking back, the midfielder, still only 20, takes a mature view of why he, like many other youngsters, failed to make the grade at Chelsea. "At 13 or 14 you become more aware of your surroundings," he told BBC Sport. "You start to think about it more, you get a bit of an ego and that's what naturally happens. "There are a lot of players at Chelsea like that, with egos, and I don't think it's the best thing for young players. "It can be damaging, you forget why you're there, why you're trying to work hard every day." In an era when young players can move for multi-million pound transfer fees and earn tens of thousands of pounds per week, it is almost impossible for teenage footballers not to get carried away with the potential riches on offer and the fame that will inevitably come with being a Premier League star. "When you're playing for a top team and you're going to school, all your mates keep saying 'oh you're play for Chelsea, that's cool'," said McGeehan. "Social media amplifies things even more, to the point where it's very damaging for young players. "The money is now getting a bit ridiculous for youngsters who haven't even stepped foot on a first-team pitch." The pivotal moment in McGeehan's youth career came with a move to Norwich City. An honest chat with academy manager Neil Bath highlighted former Chelsea youngster Andy King - now on the verge of a Premier League title with Leicester City - as an individual who had been in a similar position and chose to continue his career elsewhere. "Neil said I might be better off going somewhere else and finding my way rather than staying," McGeehan said. "He said I might get a contract [at Chelsea] but I might get lost." McGeehan's decision to continue his football education with the Canaries paid off, as he helped them lift the FA Youth Cup in 2013 - scoring in both legs of the final against his former side. "I wanted to go to Norwich, play and learn the game that way and get away from London to find myself," he explained. "It was a bit like when an 18-year-old goes to university to find themselves. The university of football for me was at 16. It was a big decision but I'm very glad I did it." Despite his success at youth level with Norwich, McGeehan once against tasted disappointment as he failed to break into their first team. After loan spells at Luton and Cambridge, a permanent move to Kenilworth Road gave him a chance of the regular senior football he craved to showcase his abilities. McGeehan scored three
summary: Signed for £80,000, and joining a club in the process of winning back-to-back Premier League titles, with Jose Mourinho, Didier Drogba and Frank Lampard to provide inspiration.