A fourth Leeds United player was offloaded in the January transfer window after Lewis Bate went out on loan. The 21-year-old has joined Milton Keynes Dons until the end of the season, which could mark his time at Elland Road.The former Chelsea trainee arrived in 2021 and signed a contract until 2024, which expires in June this year. Unless he is offered a new contract, Bate’s last game for the Whites will be at home to Shrewsbury Town in the League Cup win last August.Bate has been a marginal figure for Leeds since the arrival of Daniel Farke. The England youth international was part of the first-team squad in pre-season and made his first three league appearances of the season, but was quickly dropped when new contracts were put in place..The midfielder has only played for the Under-21s under Michael Skubala and Scott Gardner since the game against Shrewsbury. After 28 league appearances for Oxford United last season, Premier League 2 football was never enough for Bate.He now heads to League Two, where former Newcastle United defender Mike Williamson is seventh at MK Dons and chasing promotion back to the third tier. The Dons have now won eight of their last 11 games. Bate will be paired with former Leeds team-mate Max Dean, who has scored 11 goals in 22 appearances for MK this season..
Although Bate never held his place in the first team, his highlight came at the end of the 2021/22 campaign when Jesse Marsch tried to guide United to safety. Bate started at half-time in May’s defeat to Arsenal and impressed enough to make his full Premier League debut against his boyhood club Chelsea three days later at Elland Road..
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