There will be a few at Thorp Arch this week pinpointing the 2022/2023 season as a breakthrough season. A combination of working under a manager more inclined to blood youth, the relegation of the under-21s (previously under-23s) to the second-tier of the Premier League 2 and the reintroduction of the five substitutes rule put several of Leeds United’s young talents on the cusp of senior football.
None will be more ready than Lewis Bate who, after his initial £1.5million move from Chelsea last summer, has to make the step up to Premier League football over the next year. The 19-year-old started 21 times in the Premier League 2 last season and, despite his side’s relegation, was a standout performer.
But his performances earned just four senior appearances, his debut coming in the FA Cup defeat to West Ham before a second-half substitute appearance in the 3-2 win against the Hammers. Still a teenager, Bate was dealt an unimaginably tough hand when coming on at half-time against Arsenal, 2-0 down and with 10-men after Luke Ayling's horror challenge - talk about baptism of fire.
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But Bate was brilliant that game, pulling the strings of the midfield as Leeds pulled one goal back. And although he was outnumbered and overrun in the 3-0 defeat to Chelsea a week later, promise was there.
Marc Roca’s arrival at Elland Road sparked murmurs of Bate’s immediate future, with the Bayern Munich man likely to come straight into the central midfield role that Bate will hope to fulfil. But rather than hinder the young midfielder’s chances, Roca’s role and prominence in the first-team has only made his path clearer.
Last season - mainly under Marcelo Bielsa - Bate’s main problem was that he didn’t have a senior player to deputise for. The ex-Chelsea academy product lacked the physical presence to stand in for Kalvin Phillips or the box-to-box mobility of a Mateusz Klich. And while his profile was closest to Adam Forshaw, Bate’s passing range offered far more than his older teammates conservative work in possession.
In Roca, however, the ex-Chelsea academy product now has a clear first-team version of his own playing style. The Spaniard will dominate possession for the Whites, dropping into central spaces and initiating attacks from deep, but with a more dynamic and defensive partner alongside - potentially Tyler Adams or Mohamed Camara - he is relieved of covering the ground and protected from being exposed in an open side.
That midfield dynamic is perfect for Bate, with his role in possession not being overcrowded by the likes of Phillips or Forshaw also demanding the ball, but also having that cover defensively. And having Roca in the startling lineup puts Bate into the category of direct back-up, instead of more general support.
And with the 2022/2023 campaign reintroducing five substitutes, Bate will likely have more opportunity to come into games for his senior teammate. As with all of the Whites’ fringe youth - Joe Gelhardt, Sam Greenwood, Crysencio Summerville - the chance to come on and enjoy games rather than being brought on to save them will relieve a lot of pressure and garner an environment for development.
Next season could be a defining one at Elland Road for Bate, who can make the step up to first-team football if he continues to perform with the quality he did last season. He - along with Greenwood, Gelhardt and Summerville - are the next generation of stars at Elland Road, and their development over the coming year will be crucial in Leeds’ future.
And with the addition of Roca and a direct predecessor to his role, the path for Bate has never been clearer.
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