Chelsea youngster Lewis Bate closing in on move to Leeds
By Ross Jackson
Chelsea starlet Lewis Bate is nearing a move to Leeds after rejecting the Blues' latest contract offer.
The 18-year-old is widely regarded as one of the most promising youngsters in the Chelsea academy, though the club were dealt a hammer blow recently when he rejected their offer of a new deal.
Bate's evident talent has seen him monitored by a number of Premier League clubs recently, with both Liverpool and Southampton keen to secure his services.
Leeds have also been credited with an interest in the teenager, and it seems Marcelo Bielsa has got his man - with Goal reporting that Bate is close to joining the Whites.
The England Under-19 international is eager to move away from Stamford Bridge as he goes in search of regular first-team football - something he doesn't believe he'll offered in west London.
The Blues will be hoping Bate's seemingly imminent exit doesn't come back to haunt them, with the club no stranger to regretting the departure of young players who have gone on to become superstars.
Romelu Lukaku, Kevin De Bruyne and Mohamed Salah have all been allowed to leave Stamford Bridge before going on to flourish elsewhere, while more recently the Blues were unable to retain the services of Jamal Musiala who moved to Bayern Munich.
If Bate does secure a move to Elland Road, he'll be another recent academy graduate to leave Chelsea after Marc Guehi joined Crystal Palace.
Having impressed during an 18-month loan move to Swansea, the talented centre-back secured a £20m move to Palace earlier this week - money which is likely to be used in the Blues' continued pursuit of Erling Haaland.
90min recently revealed Chelsea are willing to splash up to £150m on the Borussia Dortmund man, though it remains to be seen whether BVB will be open to selling their star man this summer.