‘I wasn’t good enough’: Midfielder shares the reason why he had to leave Chelsea after 10 years

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Lewis Bate believes he simply wasn’t up to the standard to compete regularly at Chelsea.

Speaking to the Telegraph, the 20-year-old revealed the quality of the club was the reason he had to head for the exit door.

Bate parted ways with Chelsea in the summer of 2021, ending a decade long relationship with the boys in blue.

The midfielder was a regular at every academy level within the Cobham ranks, but never once made a first-team appearance.

With a senior start unlikely to occur, he decided to set sail for greener pastures away from Stamford Bridge.

He signed for Leeds United, however once again found it difficult to break into the established Premier League pack.

Lewis Bate looks back at Chelsea

Under Marcelo Bielsa and Jesse Marsch, Bate played four times for Leeds before being sent out on loan to Oxford United.

He’s found much more joy with the League 1 side, having already accumulated 21 games this season.

A lot has happened for the young man since leaving Chelsea, a decision he put down to not possessing the correct skills.   

“When I left I got a lot of stick which didn’t affect me but at the time it wasn’t nice to hear,” he admitted.

“But I left because I couldn’t see a way of breaking into the Chelsea team. I wasn’t good enough or didn’t have enough experience. It wasn’t going to happen. I had to go away and I found Leeds and fell in love with the club.”

Those who regularly watched Bate for the Under-21s will argue that he was good enough to one day represent the Chelsea first-team.

Perhaps had he been a little bit more patient, his time might’ve arrived.

Mason Mount and Conor Gallagher are good examples of midfielders who honed their skills away from South West London, only to return and stay put.

But that ship has sailed for Bate, as he embarks on a new chapter in his career.