Leeds United allowed 21 players to leave either on loan or permanently in the summer.
For the first time in a number of years, Leeds were pretty brutal in their quest to ship off some of the deadwood, which is why they were so successful in moving players on.
Crysencio Summerville, Archie Gray, Georginio Rutter and Glen Kamara were the only four to really hurt Daniel Farke’s squad, though Liam Cooper’s exit on a free was a big loss to the dressing room.
Talents such as Lewis Bate, Charlie Cresswell, Ian Poveda and Cody Drameh were also let go, having once looked as though they would be good enough to make the grade at Leeds.
Jack Harrison, Rasmus Kristensen, Darko Gyabi, Sam Greenwood and Sonny Perkins were the only five to leave Leeds on loan.
Lewis Bate shining since free transfer Leeds exit
Those who left Leeds permanently have had varying degrees of success at their respective new clubs so far.
Rutter is shining at Brighton, but Summerville and Gray are actually struggling to get off the bench for either of West Ham or Tottenham.
But enjoying success further down the divisions – and someone who is looking to work his way back up again – is Bate at Stockport County.
As mentioned, Bate was actually let go on a free transfer by Leeds in the summer after being handed a tiny amount of minutes by Daniel Farke in a Carabao Cup tie against Shrewsbury Town in August 2023.
Bate spent the second half of last season on loan at League Two side MK Dons and although he failed to help them win promotion, the 21-year-old earned a move to ambitious Stockport, just promoted back into League One.
Despite his young age and only joining in the summer, Bate was actually named as Stockport’s new club captain for the season ahead, showing just how quickly he made an impression.
And it certainly hasn’t taken Bate long to adjust to his new role, making five league appearances so far as Stockport sit sixth in the table as a newly promoted club.
Bate made the right decision leaving Leeds
Funnily enough, Leeds could actually do with a player like Bate right about now due to their current injury crisis in midfield.
Leeds have lost both Ethan Ampadu and Ilia Gruev to long-term knee injuries this month, leaving just Ao Tanaka and Joe Rothwell as senior midfield options.
However, Bate certainly made the right decision leaving Elland Road as Farke clearly did not rate him highly enough to give him any game time.
Now he is at a club who clearly rate him very highly, and where he can thrive off the responsibility of being a captain at such a young age.
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