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Lewis Baker is the latest Chelsea FC youngster to be sent out on loan, after Tomas Kalas and Nathan Aké supposedly finalised their temporary switch to Middlesbrough FC earlier this week. Baker will join partner club and Eredivisie outfit Vitesse over in Holland for the 2015/16 campaign.
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The Englishman has worked his way up Chelsea’s youth ranks, culminating in his competitive senior team debut in a FA Cup tie in January 2014. However, this remains his sole appearance, having been sent on loan twice in the latter half of last season to Sheffield Wednesday and Milton Keynes Dons.
The midfielder is highly rated at Stamford Bridge, having won a FA Youth Cup and a U21 Premier League title. Additionally, he was voted Young Player Of The Year in 2014 while on an international front, his abilities have been rewarded with the captaincy of the England U20 side.
Baker, though, must see this move as a relief as he’s been given little to no direction recently. Although he managed to get sufficient playing time at MK Dons and win promotion, League 1 isn’t the standard at which he would want to play.
With his plans for next season decided so far in advance, Baker will be able to get himself ready and will probably be allowed to join them for pre-season training. This should afford him some time to get accustomed to his new teammates and thus enable him to hit the ground running come the start of the season. The Eredivisie is certainly a step up from League 1, and hopefully he’ll be given enough opportunities to showcase his talents on the continent.
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Meanwhile, he isn’t the first Blues player to join Vitesse, as has been well documented. No fewer than five Chelsea players have been a part of the Dutch side’s squads over the last two seasons, including Josh McEachran and Christian Atsu. Baker, though, at 20 years of age will in no doubt be looking to use this move as a key stage in his development.
While he still probably won’t have a proper role in the senior squad come the 2016/17 campaign, he will need to take his first proper opportunity of regular playing time in order to prove his worth to Jose Mourinho. If he does so, Stamford Bridge may come calling in earnest a few years down the line.
Chelsea’s loan machine now seems to be in full-flow. With no fewer than 30 players farmed out over the course of the last season, they don’t seem too deterred from doing the same this time around. All that players like Baker can do is grab any chance they get and perform to the standards that are expected.
In the meantime, here’s his goal which won Chelsea’s Goal Of The Year in 2014:
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