Chelsea’s vaunted Cobham Academy has once again churned out another talented young footballer for export after Belgian giants RSC Anderlecht secured the services of midfielder Tudor Mendel-Idowu on a free transfer.
As reported by Belgian football insider Sacha Tavolieri and others, the Berkshire-born 18-year-old England youth international is headed to Brussels and Lotto Park under manager Brian Riemer after agreeing to a three-year contract, which also includes a one-year optional extension.
Mendel-Idowu was first expected to head off to Catalunya and join Barcelona B, but the Belgian outfit did well to convince the English youngster to jet-set to Flemish Brabant.
Per Anderlecht’s official statement via their website, CEO of Sports Jesper Fredberg stated “Signing bright young prospects like Tudor is perfectly in line with our strategy. We want to have the biggest talents playing at Anderlecht. Tudor is a good fit as he’s not only a modern and talented winger, he is also hungry and he has clearly enjoyed a good education. At Anderlecht, we can provide him with the perfect pathway to take the next step.”
The new signing also spoke of his excitement surrounding joining the project in the Belgian capital: “It’s really exciting to be here. I was fascinated by the sporting project that both Jesper and Mikkel presented. I’m looking forward to making my mark at this beautiful club.”
Mendel-Idowu becomes the sixth full signing by the club this summer, with Anderlecht having already secured the services of former Danish starlet Kasper Dolberg, Argentine forward Luis Vázquez, Belgian U21 full-back Louis Patris, veteran French keeper Maxime Dupé, and Dutch midfielder Justin Lonwijk.
