Chelsea fans desperate to see wonderkid who broke Cobham record play in first team

Chelsea fans are hoping to see 18-year-old wonderkid Tudor Mendel-Idowu break into the Blues’ first-team squad next season after a Twitter thread claiming he has the best stats in Cobham history went viral.

Fans have hailed the teenage prodigy as “one of the most promising academy players” and looking at his successful dribbling statistics and goal average this season, we can see why.

According to his statistics, the Berkshire-born winger has a 1.24 G/A per 90 this season and 7.6 successful dribbles per 90 in the U18 Premier League.

The skilful youngster joined the Chelsea youth academy at under-8 level but has just a few months left until his contract expires on June 30.

However, fans are hoping that the Premier League side can pin him down to a multi-year deal within the next two weeks before he 'inevitably moves to Bayern Munich.'

Mendel-Idowu’s efforts this season have been compiled into an impressive Twitter thread, which has since racked up millions of views and thousands of likes.

His best bits from the season include a stunning brace against Brighton & Hove Albion’s U18s and the goal and assist he provided during a game against Bradford.

Following the tweet, fans have taken to Reddit to discuss Mendel-Idowu’s future and why they believe he is deserving of a spot in the first-team squad.

Tudor Mendel-Idowu has the best dribbling stats in Cobham history, with 7.6 successful dribbles per 90.

Some dribble stats I have:

• 6/7 vs West Ham, 75 mins
• 10/13 vs Everton, 82 mins 🤯
• 8/10 vs Bradford, 90 mins

Also has 1.24 G/A per 90 this season with no penalties 🤣 pic.twitter.com/KNS1yRQ9Cl

— Felix (@FelixJohnston_) May 11, 2023

One fan wrote: “Pretty sure he was also in a child genius show some years ago? Either way, this is impressive for a young player and it’s crazy to think he’s great in different fields of play, seems like a skilful winger.”

Another said: “He’s got 9 G/A in 12 games in the U-18 Premier League. Plus, let’s just assume he’s all dribbling (which he’s not) - he can still be effectively utilised to create space and progress the ball.

“It opens up space for others and drags midfielders and full-backs out of position. Things like these are very important when breaking down defences,” they continued.

A third agreed and wrote: “He should be our RW depth for next season instead of forking out £80 million for someone who chose Barcelona over us. [Noni] Madueke’s injury history suggests he’s not lasting the season unscathed.”

However, not everyone agrees that the young baller deserves to slot straight into the senior squad.

One fan wrote: “You guys are tripping if you think this kid is going to make it at Chelsea. He’s 18 and has [had] 0 minutes played for our reserve team. He’s literally not even in our premier League 2 squad.”

Another said: “What if he plays like Jeremy Doku from Rennes? All dribbling, nothing else.”