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Report: Barcelona snap up Chelsea winger on a free

By David Wyatt-Hupton

MILAN, ITALY - OCTOBER 11: Tudor Mendel-Idowu of Chelsea FC during the UEFA Youth League match between AC Milan and Chelsea FC at Centro Sportivo Vismara on October 11, 2022 in Milan, Italy. (Photo by Jonathan Moscrop/Getty Images)
MILAN, ITALY - OCTOBER 11: Tudor Mendel-Idowu of Chelsea FC during the UEFA Youth League match between AC Milan and Chelsea FC at Centro Sportivo Vismara on October 11, 2022 in Milan, Italy. (Photo by Jonathan Moscrop/Getty Images) /
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According to Albert Rogé, Barcelona is set to sign Chelsea youth winger Tudor Mendel-Idowu on a free transfer with the attacking English midfielder signing a contract until June 2026.

Mendel-Idowu has been identified by Barca Sporting Director Deco as a promising talent for the future, and the England youth international has been persuaded to leave West London for Catalonia.

The La Liga champions have been working tirelessly to find and attract some of the most exciting youth talents to maintain a seamless and productive pipeline from within. Signing players at this stage of their career is significantly cheaper than signing players once they’ve broken through. As we alluded to earlier today in our piece on Florian Wirtz.

Mendel-Idowu is set to arrive in Catalonia and work with the Barça Atlètic team under Rafael Márquez and will be closely watched by the management team with the senior side.

Talented winger Tudor Mendel-Idowu to join Barcelona

As talented as he is on the football field, Mendel-Idowu was considered a youth prodigy for his intelligence in the classroom.

He came second in the 2014 edition of ‘Child Genius’ and was selected to the King’s Scholar programme at the world-renowned Eton College at the age of 13.

On the field, Chelsea signed Mendel-Idowu back in 2012 when he was just 7 years old, fighting off interest from a number of London clubs including Tottenham and Arsenal.

Mendel-Idowu was eligible to appear for both the England and Nigerian national teams and has thus far only represented England, appearing for the U15 and currently the U17 team where he’s scored 3 goals in 4 games.

His grandfather John Adeleye-Abai played for Nigeria as a winger, and it’s not yet known if Mendel-Idowu will follow him when selected at the senior level.

Renowned for his pace and dribbling ability, Mendel-Idowu has the versatility to play all three attacking midfield roles.

It’s a surprise to see Chelsea let his contract run down, but this is a real coup for Deco and the Barcelona hierarchy.

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