Player that left Leeds United in summer has captained new club 15 times, has four assists and three MOTM awards in six games

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Leeds United waved goodbye to a squad’s worth of players in the summer, selling eight permanently. Five more went on loan, and lots more left at the end of their Elland Road contracts.

Archie Gray, Crysencio Summerville and Georginio Rutter were sold to Premier League clubs. Glen Kamara and Charlie Cresswell moved to Ligue 1 sides, while Marc Roca, Diego Llorente and Kris Klaesson also left.

Jack Harrison, Rasmus Kristensen, Darko Gyabi, Sonny Perkins and Sam Greenwood have gone on loan. Then more left on frees, including the likes of Liam Cooper, Luke Ayling, Cody Drameh and Ian Poveda.

Another to depart Leeds for nothing at the end of his contract as ended up in League One, with a club vying for a place in the play-offs at this early stage. Already, he has captained his new side in 15 games.

• READ MORE: Joe Allen says Leeds have a player that is getting better and better

Lew Bate leading Stockport with armband and his performances

Bate, who has just turned 22, joined Leeds from Chelsea back in the summer of 2021. But he only played five times at senior level and instead of signing a new deal, he left on a free to join Stockport County.

Since then, Bate has been made Stockport captain. He has captained Stockport on 15 occasions and laid on four assists in that time – winning the Man of the Match award three times in the last six games.

While they have played more games than some of the other clubs in and around them, Stockport sit in fourth place and are well-positioned to mount a charge on the League One play-offs come next May.

Did Leeds make a mistake in letting Bate go too early?

Karl Robinson, who was assistant manager to Sam Allardyce at Leeds during his four-game stint as boss, worked with Bate during a loan from Leeds. Robinson said Bate is a “magician”, and he is showing that.

While Bate needed to leave Leeds and get regular game time in order to show his quality with regular game time, it is clear that the midfield technician is a player of huge potential and is finally proving that.

Certainly, with injuries to Ethan Ampadu and Ilia Gruev and prior to the signing of Josuha Guilavogui, having a player like Bate on board at Elland Road might have been beneficial, but instead, he is elsewhere.