Top of the class

Skysports.com's Peter O'Rourke chats to a young footballer who has bucked the trend by proving he's as smart off the field as he is on it

Last updated: 20th August 2010  

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Bradford's loan star from Norwich Tom Adeyemi is more than just your average footballer.

Adeyemi was among thousands of teenagers celebrating on Thursday after the highly-rated 18-year-old earned straight A's in his A-Level exam results and he has an unconditional offer from Cambridge University.

It's fair to say Tom is probably the brains in the dressing rooms at Carrow Road and Valley Parade given he achieved A* in Biology and Chemistry and an A in Maths.

Footballers are often accused of not being the most intelligent of species, but Adeyemi has shown you can be a success on and off the pitch with the right application.

Following in the footsteps of famous football brains such as Brian McClair, who studied maths at Glasgow University while playing part-time for Motherwell, Countdown king Clarke Carlisle and Nedum Onuoha, who got similar A level results, required a discipline that should serve him well in the future.

"It was difficult concentrating on my studies while juggling the football at the same time," Adeyemi told skysports.com.

"I've had to be very disciplined at times as I didn't want my studies to get in the way of the football. That's always been my main priority."

Adeyemi, who is currently on a six-month loan at Bradford, appears to have a bright future ahead of him as he was named Apprentice of the Year at the Football League Awards last season after breaking into the Norwich first team.

The talented midfielder also made an immediate impression at Bradford, scoring on his debut at Shrewsbury and is highly-regarded within the corridors of power at Carrow Road.

There are very few students who have turned down a place at Cambridge University but while appreciating the opportunity he has politely spurned, Adeyemi is adamant he has always been sure of the career path he was going to pursue.

When quizzed on whether he'd be continuing his studies in any capacity the talented starlet insisted the books were being put away, for now at least.

"No, definitely not. I want to give football a proper go," he added. "It's my full-time priority. Maybe my academic side is something I could fall back on further down the line.

"I didn't apply for university to be honest, as I said, football has always been at the forefront of my thoughts."

Adeyemi's former manager at Norwich, Glenn Roeder, who gave him his first professional contract, had previously described him in glowing terms after working with the player during his own stint at the Championship outfit.

"He's very athletic, technically very gifted and one of the nicest young men that I've ever dealt with. He comes from a lovely family, and academically he's incredibly intelligent - I don't think he got anything less than an A grade in his GCSEs.

"My son goes to the same school and the headmaster told me if Tom decides at any point he doesn't want to play football he can go back to Norwich School, get his A levels and end up at Oxford or Cambridge, and I don't think he means their football teams!"

While scores of teenagers across the country will have woken up this morning with a hangover to end all hangovers, there was no such release last night for a player who is fully aware of the sacrifices he has to make if he is to fulfil his undoubted potential.

Concentrating on Bradford's game this Saturday against Torquay rather than popping the champagne, Adeyemi is happy to put celebrations on the backburner.

"I won't be going out celebrating because it's too close to the game on Saturday. If we win at the weekend then maybe I might have a double celebration.

"I went to training this morning with a smile on my face. I've had a few messages of congratulations from the Sunderland lads. Not many of the lads at Bradford knew about it to be fair."

Adeyemi's agent, Simon Kennedy, believes the teenager has the potential to be a major star in football and that his exam success is just reward for his hard work off the pitch.

"Tom has got massive potential to be a top Premier League player in the future," Kennedy told skysports.com.

"I think his outstanding A-Level results exemplify what a first-class young person he is and I think it shows how well he was brought up by his family to combine his studies with his football."

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