Leeds United table bid to sign Chelsea youngster
Leeds United have tabled a bid to sign Chelsea midfielder Lewis Bate but face competition from West Ham for his signature, according to The Athletic.
The news outlet claims both teams have made offers for the 18-year-old, who wants to quit Stamford Bridge this summer to earn increased his first-team opportunities elsewhere.
It is understood that Leeds feel they are in pole position to sign the England youth international, who has been described by some Chelsea coaches “as a better player than [Billy] Gilmour”.
The Bielsa effect?
Marcelo Bielsa’s use of young players is bound to have helped Leeds put themselves in a strong position to sign Bate.
Chelsea have a great academy and a lot of great young players with Bate said to be “one of the most highly-rated midfielders in the country”.
However, the London club faces a problem in that they have so many young talents they cannot promise all of them first-team opportunities and some of them need to move on.
Bate isn’t silly and he knows it’s best to quit Stamford Bridge this summer, which is why The Athletic reports he’s rejected the chance to sign a contract extension with his existing deal running out next year.
Bielsa has offered young players plenty of chances at Leeds during his time in charge at Elland Road with the Whites’ Under-23s side being seen as a sort of extension to his first-team.
Bate has made Chelsea’s bench a couple of times in the last year with the central-midfielder being in the squad for matches versus Sheffield United and Bayern Munich.
However, he hasn’t played and maybe if he did, Chelsea wouldn’t be facing the prospect of losing their talented teenager to Leeds.
In other Leeds United news, this winger has been spotted heading to a Yorkshire club ahead of potentially leaving Elland Road for good.