Leeds United have a number of players that will see their Elland Road contracts expire in the summer and one midfielder is now ‘expected’ to leave the club on a free transfer.
Leeds captain Liam Cooper is still hoping he will be awarded a new deal as he approaches a decade at the club. Defenders Sam Byram and Jamie Shackleton are both also out of contract at the end of the season.
Stuart Dallas has confirmed he will be retiring this summer while the chances are Luke Ayling and Ian Poveda will complete permanent deals at their loan clubs in Middlesbrough and Sheffield Wednesday.
Robin Koch has already agreed a permanent move to Frankfurt when his loan at the Bundesliga side expires. Cody Drameh and Lew Bate find themselves in similar positions while currently out on loan.
Drameh has been impressive at Birmingham City but tailed off towards the end of the season while 21-year-old midfielder Bate has caught the eye on loan at MK Dons during the second half of the season.
Now, an update has been provided by The Yorkshire Evening Post on Bate, once branded a “magician” by Karl Robinson:
Lew Bate now ‘expected’ to leave Leeds in the summer
Bate joined Leeds back in the summer of 2021 from Chelsea and the hype surrounding the teenage talent was large. That term he featured four times in the senior side, twice with Marcelo Bielsa before his exit.
Then two games with Jesse Marsch as the club somehow avoided relegation on the final day, featuring in defeats against Arsenal and Chelsea. But he had to wait until the start of this season for his next outing.
A late outing against Shrewsbury was his only taste of first-team football under Daniel Farke. While he has done well at MK Dons, it is still only the fourth tier and it is not the level required to earn a new contract.
The report from The YEP claims that it is ‘expected’ Bate will be leaving Leeds in the summer on a free, and he will not be offered a new deal. Something we might not have expected after breaking in, in 2022.
What Marcelo Bielsa said about Leeds talent Bate in 2021
Bielsa was a big fan of Bate when he first arrived at Elland Road from Chelsea three years ago. Speaking to Leeds Live, he said: “He’s a player who performs better every time in the games he’s a part of.
“He’s a player that is constantly managing the ball and he doesn’t lose it very often. And he’s got a good sense of a pass, he can thread it through the needle,” the Argentine legend said on Bate three years ago.
Bate needs to leave Leeds and find a club where he is going to play regularly, but surely at a level above League Two. A top-end League One side, or a Championship club, would be well-served signing Bate.