Lewis Bate sent new Leeds United message after what he did
Leeds United Under-21s manager Michael Skubala has called upon Lewis Bate to “keep improving” after an impressive display in the Premier League 2.
The 21-year-old midfielder had been training with Daniel Farke’s first team side in pre-season and even found himself included in three Championship sides in the opening weeks of the campaign, before Glen Kamara and Ilia Gruev arrived at Elland Road.
Instead, he has played plenty of football for the Whites under-21 side, including in their 2-2 draw with Liverpool on Sunday (29 October) where Skubala said that he had caught the eye but still had plenty of areas to improve his game.
As quoted by Leeds Live (30 October) he said: “He’s very good at getting about the pitch, he’s very good at getting on the ball for us and he links play well. He’s a really good asset for us.
“At times he can hold onto it too long and he needs to keep improving on that and I think here he gets a bit more time than he might be used to at higher levels of football, so he needs to keep improving on when and where to stay on it really, but he’s a very good technician.
“He’s been fantastic and he’s trying to keep improving himself and he wants to keep getting minutes. He was probably one that looked a little bit tired, but his attitude has been absolutely class and he’s really looking forward to playing minutes and getting back into the confidence of being a good footballer, which he is.”
Build the confidence
Bate had an excellent loan spell in League One with Oxford City last season, where he made 28 appearances and many expected him to make the step into the Championship this season following Leeds’ relegation to the second tier.
But the influx of midfielders into Farke’s side late in the transfer window has left him well down the current pecking order and it is beneficial to all parties involved that he continues to play regular minutes with the under-21 side to build up his confidence.
However, it is unlikely that any midfielder will depart Elland Road when the January window opens and barring a mass injury crisis it is unlikely that Bate will be a regular feature in the Leeds United first-team, with plenty of players ahead of him currently.
It could well be beneficial to Bate and Leeds if he is allowed to depart on loan again for the second half of the campaign, whether that be at a bottom-half Championship side or a League One outfit so he can rediscover his confidence and play regular minutes at a senior level.
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