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Few academies in world football have been quite as fruitful as Chelsea’s Cobham in recent years.
A number of graduates are now involved with the first team, namely Reece James, Tammy Abraham and Mason Mount, while a further plethora of talent has gone on to ply their trade elsewhere.
Despite its success, Chelsea fans have often become disgruntled at some of the talent that the club has allowed to leave.
Last summer, promising right-back Tariq Lamptey was allowed to join Brighton and Hove Albion, despite a scintillating senior debut against Arsenal just months earlier.
Now, it appears that a similar situation could be occurring, with The Athletic reporting that young midfielder Lewis Bate is on the verge of joining Leeds United on a permanent basis.
Mason Mount is arguably the most high profile Chelsea graduate.
Bate has been a standout performer in Chelsea’s youth sides in recent seasons, and was one of the players that Blues fans were most excited to see progress into the senior set up.
The 18-year-old had attracted attention from a number of Premier League clubs, however it appears that Marcelo Bielsa’s side have emerged as frontrunners for his signature.
It is believed that Chelsea made a significant effort to keep Bate at Stamford Bridge, but that the player rejected all offers on the basis that his route to the first team was being blocked.
Bate is the second academy graduate to leave this week, after Marc Guehi completed an £18 million move to Crystal Palace after impressing in the Championship for Swansea City last term.
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