Promising Chelsea youngster Lewis Bate has left the club to complete a transfer to Premier League rivals Leeds United.
As confirmed by the club’s official website, Leeds United have completed the signing of talented Chelsea academy product Lewis Bate, signing a three-year contract.
Bate has been with the academy of Chelsea since 2011 and has risen through the youth ranks at an impressive rate. A central midfielder, the 18-year-old went on to make 29 appearances for the Blues’ Under-18 outfit, scoring six goals and registering five assists. He also went on to feature 25 times for the club’s reserve side.
However, Bate has never made a first-team appearance for the west London giants, although he did make it to the bench on three occasions. The teenage prospect had entered the final year of his contract with Chelsea, who had offered him an extension on the deal. However, he turned down the deal as he sought a quicker pathway to the first-team, which would not be forthcoming at Stamford Bridge.
Indeed, with the likes of Jorginho, N’Golo Kante, Mateo Kovacic are the top choices for manager Thomas Tuchel with the likes of Conor Gallagher, Billy Gilmour, Ruben Loftus-Cheek all options for the future. So, it would have been difficult for Bate to break into the senior team at the club in the immediate sense. So, the youngster has now completed a transfer to Leeds United.
✍️ #LUFC are pleased to announce the signing of Lewis Bate from Chelsea
— Leeds United (@LUFC) July 22, 2021
Bate Bate Leeds United’s fifth signing of the summer transfer window, following the arrivals of Junior Firpo, Jack Harrison, Sean McGurk and Amari Miller. The Athletic confirmed that the 18-year-old was attracting strong interest from several clubs in England including Liverpool, Leicester City, West Ham United and Brighton, but the Whites have beaten them to the punch.
Bate has signed a three-year deal with the Yorkshire-based outfit. Journalist Simon Johnson has claimed that Leeds will pay £1.5million plus add-ons for the promising teenager.
A number of other youngsters could be on their way out from Chelsea following Bate, with Tino Livramento, Dynel Simeu and Myles Peart-Harris, all of whom have turned down new contracts at Stamford Bridge while Marc Guehi has left for Crystal Palace.
