Chelsea to send Kenedy on the Premier League loan Lewis Baker deserves

Chelsea’s next two rumoured loans will send all sorts of wrong messages from a club and development perspective. Kenedy is in line for a season at Newcastle, while Lewis Baker may spend the season at Middlesbrough.

Lewis Baker played two stand-out seasons on loan at Vitesse, where he had a significant role in their historic KNVB Cup win. He survived the first round of loan-outs this summer, and spent the entire pre-season tour with Chelsea’s first team. Unlike Kenedy, who the club sent home to take the edge off an international incident.

Despite the differences in the quantity and quality of their play over the last few seasons, and the more recent differences in notoriety, Kenedy will get the better of the loans. The Mirror reports Kenedy will spend the 2017/18 season at Newcastle.

Newcastle has been in the rumour mix for several Chelsea loanees. Ruben Loftus-Cheek was, for a while, the heavy favourite to develop under Rafael Benitez. Normally we would not credit The Mirror for much in the ways of transfer or loan rumours. But they are an official partner of Newcastle United, and may actually have accurate sourcing on this one.

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As an added dose of irony, Newcastle’s shirt sponsor is FUN88, “an online gaming company with a large following in Asia.” No word yet on how they may incorporate Kenedy into their promotions.

Meanwhile, on the other side of last season’s promotion / relegation swap, Middlesbrough hope to land Lewis Baker on a two year loan. This will be an unequivocal step backwards for Baker’s development and route to Chelsea’s first team.

Baker learned and exhibited a high-quality, technically-adept style of play at Vitesse. His creativity through midfield and his technique on free kicks put him in line to be Chelsea’s next Cesc Fabregas. While he may not be ready for Chelsea this season, he is certainly capable of playing in the Premier League.

More than that, only top-tier football will teach him what he needs to learn. Sending Lewis Baker to the Championship will be a textbook example of teaching him how to play poor football. For some developing players, the Championship is a valuable step along the way. For Baker, it is a step in the wrong direction.

Chelsea are running low on Premier League loan destinations. If Kenedy goes to Newcastle the Blues will have loanees at six Premier League clubs. They will not loan a player to a top-six rival. Sell, yes. Loan, no. That leaves only a few midtable clubs available, some of whom will not need another midfielder.

Given Antonio Conte’s admitted need for another midfielder, Lewis Baker could stay at Chelsea this season. He would take the Nathaniel Chalobah role on the bench and in domestic cup matches. With Nemanja Matic gone and Tiemoue Bakayoko injured, Baker could find himself playing ahead of schedule out of simple necessity. Chelsea would just have to ensure he did not follow the Chalobah example all the way to a permanent transfer.

If the Blues cannot find a Premier League home for Lewis Baker, the Bundesliga would be the next best option. The Bundesliga would best continue his development from Vitesse, and would be a strong bridge into the Premier League for the 2018/19 season.

Next: Chelsea sold Nemanja Matic, Nathaniel Chalobah with no midfield strategy

The only advantage to sending Baker to Middlesbrough is letting him stay a year in England. That is a compelling motivation for a young player, even one with his potential and ambitions. Chelsea can do better, though, than a Championship club with a style that does not suit Baker’s development.