Chelsea have been poor this season, despite the lucrative expenditure on the transfer front over the past year, with the west London outfit languishing in mid-table mediocrity and out of both domestic cup competitions.
Graham Potter replaced previous manager Thomas Tuchel in the early phases of the campaign with the Premier League club on a downward trend, but fortunes have only recently seen sunlight after a wretched run of form.
The Blues had won three successive matches, and clinched qualification to the Champions League quarter-finals, where holding champions Real Madrid await, before Everton snatched a draw at Stamford Bridge before the international break, with the Toffees' homegrown talent Ellis Simms scoring a brutish goal to restore parity.
Simms' strike was a reminder of the impact youth can have, with some of the Premier League's greatest current gems graduates of respective youth academies – Phil Foden dazzles for Manchester City after plying his formative years at the club, the same can be said for Liverpool's Trent Alexander-Arnold; the most arresting individual at present, however, is surely Arsenal sensation Bukayo Saka, who has been integral in his side's title-chasing campaign.
Drawing comparisons to the Gunners' prodigy, Cobham starlet Tudor Mendel-Idowu is pushing for an increase in responsibility at Chelsea, flourishing at youth level.
Who is Tudor Mendel-Idowu?
Mendel-Idowu is the encapsulation of precocity; a Kings Scholar at the prestigious Eton Academy, the 18-year-old has also been riding the crest of a wave throughout his maiden footballing years, signing for Chelsea's academy when was a child and hailed as "talented" and a winger who "possesses great dribbling ability and is often in the right places to score goals" by the club's official website.
Often utilised as a central attacking midfielder or on the right flank, the burgeoning star has been in emphatic form this season, scoring four goals and supplying two assists from nine displays in the U18 Premier League and making an appearance in the EFL Trophy, coming off the bench against League One outfit Peterborough United.
Dubbed a "remarkable" prospect by Chelsea writer Matt Addison, Mendel-Idowu looks a genuine prospect for Potter to consider, nurturing his skills over the next few years and emulating established stars such as Reece James, Mason Mount, Callum Hudson-Odoi and Tammy Abraham in graduating from the side's youth ranks.
Having scored three goals from four appearances for England U17s, the fleet-footed dynamo is on the way to prominence on the professional scene, especially after indeed bearing a semblance to the imperious Saka, with one writer saying "Chelsea already have their own Bukayo Saka" when talking of the Cobham ace.
Saka rose through the ranks at Arsenal's Hale End academy before emerging as a prominent and paramount component of Mikel Arteta's system, having made 169 appearances and scoring 36 goals and 39 assists, winning the FA Cup and now en route to clinching Premier League glory.
This season, with Arsenal atop the Premier League table, the 22-year-old has scored 12 goals and supplied ten assists from 28 appearances, hailed as "electric" by Statman Dave and is valued at £106m by CIES Football Observatory, one of the most coveted gems in world football.
If Chelsea provides a similar platform for their nimble star, he could emulate Saka's career and cement himself as one of the Premier League's biggest stars in a matter of years.