Chelsea starlet was boy genius who did A-levels at Eton College and speaks six languages

A former Chelsea starlet was one of Britain's top students and won a scholarship to Eton College before choosing to pursue his football career. Tudor Mendel-Idowu joined the Blues when he was eight and remained in their academy until 2023, when he turned down the offer of a new contract. He went on to join Anderlecht and is currently on the books of Ipswich Town.

It was clear from an early age that Mendel-Idowu would be a gifted student. A year after joining Chelsea, he took part in the Child Genius competition on Channel 4 but ended up crying on camera when he came second. Two years later, he learned Portuguese, Mandarin and Arabic to beat 1,000 other kids in a language contest.

At the age of 13, Mendel-Idowu won a King's Scholar award at Eton. It made him one of just 14 boys selected each year for no or reduced fees after acing exams in eight subjects.

During his time at the prestigious school, the midfielder passed A-levels in Latin, Greek and History. It means he is capable of speaking at least six languages, having grown up with English as his native tongue.

Discussing his academic ability in 2022, he told the FIFA website: "King's Scholars are the top 14 brightest students in the UK, if not the world, admitted once per year at the age of 13.

"It's decided after a rigorous examination process over two weeks, covering papers in a variety of subjects, Maths, Latin and Divinity to name a few.

"Like every kid, I played football from a very young age. It would have been around the age of seven or eight that I realised I had a special talent. About the same time, I saw my academic gift coming to fruition as well.

"There were different top academies across the UK that approached me. Chelsea were the ones who showed the most interest and essentially being the top academy, they really wanted to get me, and did in the end."

Mendel-Idowu emerged as a key player for Chelsea's academy sides, scoring a memorable winner in a comeback against Liverpool in the FA Youth Cup. However, he chose to leave the Blues two years ago with Barcelona said to be interested in signing him.

When a move to the Catalan giants never materialised, the youngster ended up joining Anderlecht. He was assigned to their youth side, RSCA Futures, and scored on his debut in a narrow victory over Dender.

Mendel-Idowu joined Ipswich Town on a permanent deal last summer and has featured prominently at youth level for the Tractor Boys. He trained with the first-team squad earlier this year but is yet to be handed a senior debut.

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