Marcelo Bielsa has evidently been working his magic again, with one highly-rated Chelsea youngster choosing to move to Elland Road for the next stage of his career, despite the interest of a trio of Premier League clubs.
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According to the Daily Mirror, Liverpool, Southampton and West Ham are all out of luck in their pursuit of Lewis Bate, after Leeds agreed a £1.5m transfer fee with the west Londoners.
At just 18 years of age, Bate has already captained the Blues in the FA Youth Cup and, whilst he will be expected to start in Leeds’ U23 side say the Daily Mirror, there’s every reason to believe that a pathway to the first-team will be made available to him.
Chelsea appear to have reluctantly cashed in on the player after he showed no interest in signing a new contract, and with just 12 months left on his current deal, they had little option if they wanted a fee for him.