Chelsea striker Patrick Bamford rejected a place at Harvard University to chase a pro career in football.

Bamford is currently on-loan at Middlesbrough.

"I did my GCSEs early (five A stars, three As, two Bs) so when it came to going into the scholar programme at Forest, I'd already done a year of A-levels," he told the Daily Mail. "Just in case things didn't work out I'd already looked at universities. I applied abroad and somehow Harvard offered me a scholarship!

"They offered it mainly based on football but it was also to do with business and I would have included a language as well.

"My ambition was always to play football, so as soon as I knew I had the chance to make it pro and achieve my dream then Harvard was just a back-up."