Bate first started training at Chelsea at the age of eight and captained our Under-18s in the FA Youth Cup final last year, as well as featuring three times for our development squad during their title-winning Premier League 2 campaign.

The 18-year-old has been named among the substitutes for the senior men’s team on three occasions, most recently for our FA Cup fifth-round tie against Barnsley in February.

Last season, Bate was a mainstay in our development squad’s midfield and played 26 times in total across the age groups, picking up the PL2 Player of the Month award in December.

We thank Lewis for his time at the club and wish him well in the future.

In other Academy news, development squad assistant coach Eric Ramsay has joined Manchester United to coach their men’s first team.

Ramsay joined the Chelsea Academy in the summer of 2019 after working as an assistant coach at Shrewsbury Town. He was part Andy Myers’ staff who steered our unbeaten development squad to the Premier League 2 title in 2019/20, plus runners-up spot last season.

We would like to thank Eric for his hard work and wish him well for the future.