Premier League-bound Ipswich Town staged their End of Season awards on Monday evening, with a Nigeria-eligible forward among the notable winners.

Former Chelsea schoolboy Tudor Mendel-Idowu was honoured as the 2025–2026 Academy Player of the Year following an impressive debut campaign in Premier League 2.

Born in Slough to Nigerian parents, Mendel-Idowu boasts a strong footballing lineage, with his maternal grandfather, John Adeleye-Abai, representing Nigeria at international level.

"My grandfather on my mother’s side played internationally for his country, Nigeria. I actually have a photo at home of him with Pele at a game (John Adeleye-Abai is on Pele's left), which I always found inspirational," Tudor told Fifa's official website in 2022.

Mendel-Idowu was named Ipswich Town Academy Player of the Year after an outstanding campaign for the U21s under John McGreal, with the dynamic winger recording eight goals and six assists in sixteen Premier League 2 appearances.

He also featured in the Premier League Cup and Premier League 2 playoffs, scoring once across four matches. 

The 21-year-old joined Ipswich Town in August 2024 from Anderlecht, where he made sixteen appearances for their reserve side in the second tier of Belgian football.

Mendel-Idowu is provisionally cap-tied to England, having represented the Young Lions in a European U17 Championship qualifier against France in March 2022.