Leeds United loaned midfielder Lewis Bate to MK Dons for the remainder of the season in January, and his stint with the club is officially finished with his new statements.
Leeds’ investment in youth signings has yielded some profitable dividends, with Pascal Struijk and Crysencio Summerville being particularly valuable, but Leeds hasn’t done a good job of capitalising on the others that were brought in.
Lewis Bate joined Leeds in 2021 as one of Chelsea’s standout youth at Cobham, but was loaned out to MK Dons in January after only a few minutes in a Leeds shirt during the first half of the season.
Lewis Bate confesses that Farke did not “like” him.
Bate is currently in the final months of his contract, and a League Two exit for the remainder of the season marks the end of his Elland Road tenure.
It seems unlikely that he will be offered a new contract, as the 21-year-old clarifies in an interview with MK Citizen.
“It was challenging. The club fell down, they hired a new management, and you never know if they’ll like you, and it turns out he didn’t. But that’s the point; you move on and try to play other games.
“Everyone’s journey and career are unique. I don’t harbor a grudge; opportunities have dried up a little, but if the manager doesn’t like you, that’s football.
Bate’s Leeds career is probably ended.
From the outside, his situation at Leeds appeared odd, because Farke clearly liked Bate enough at the start of pre-season to give him a second-half outing against Manchester United, in which he played reasonably well and helped his chances.
Dropping into the Championship in a possession-heavy team also will have been a boost for Bate when he looked ahead to this season, but no opportunities followed and no loan was sanctioned either, which has hampered him significantly.
If it wasn’t already clear that he wouldn’t be returning with a new contract at the end of the season, his remarks about Farke’s connection with him say volumes.
