Official: Leeds United sign Lewis Bate from Chelsea

Teenage Chelsea midfielder Lewis Bate has traded blue for white by joining Leeds United, and signing a three-year deal.

The transfer was confirmed today by both sides, and while an exact fee was not revealed as usual, reports put the value around £1.5m plus some add-ons, which isn’t terrible considering that Bate had only one year left on his contract, was not interested in signing an extension, and has yet to actually make his professional debut. Chelsea do have a sell-on clause, but no buyback.

Like many others in the Academy, Bate had been with Chelsea since a very early age, joining at the under-9 level and working his way up the ranks. He’d been a fixture in the youth teams at both U18 and U23 levels over the past couple years, and made it as far as the bench for the first-team on a few occasions, though without actually getting to make his debut.

Still, the 18-year-old saw a clearer pathway to the first-team at Leeds than at Chelsea, and thus made the decision to leave, although, he will initially link up with their U23s for the forthcoming season.

We can only wish him the best of luck.