Lewis Baker Recalled From Sheffield Wednesday Loan

Chelsea FC appear to be keeping a very close eye on their loaned out players these days. Lewis Baker, who just joined Sheffield Wednesday a few weeks ago, has been officially recalled from the club and had his loan ended. This came just days after not making the match day squad for the Owls’ last match on Saturday.

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Baker appeared to be enjoying himself on loan as he was handed a starting role for his first two matches with Sheffield Wednesday. He was on the bench for his first two appearances against Nottingham Forest and Bolton Wanderers but made two consecutive starts after that. Baker started in a 0-0 draw against Birmingham and was subbed off at half-time against fellow loanee Nathaniel Chalobah and Reading.

He, as mentioned earlier, did not make the squad for the next match against Cardiff City and the reasons why were not clear. What was clear however was that something went wrong and Chelsea did not appreciate the way Lewis Baker was being handled and recalled him.

Baker spent the first half of the season training with the senior squad but failed to make an appearance. The Blues wanted to get him some first team action and sending him on loan to a Championship side seemed like the obvious thing to do. We have seen in the past that it is not as simple as that.

Plenty of Chelsea youngsters have been sent on loan to lower league sides and have not been able to find regular playing time. Perhaps they did not gel with their new teams or the manager did not trust his fate to a player so young. Whatever the case is, sometimes these loans just do not work out as planned. So with Lewis Baker recalled, what are his options? With the transfer window closed he can no longer be sent on a season long loan to another club.

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What he can do however is be sent on what they call emergency loans where special permission has to be granted by the governing bodies of the leagues. He can also go back to playing for the U21s to stay match fit. Ideally he could play for the U21s and still get some minutes with the first team later on in the season if the title is decided early enough. It has been a strange season for the youngster but hopefully he can learn and grow from this experience.