Chelsea loan army: Keep, loan or sell? Lewis Baker (Part 18)

In Part 17 of this series, I broke down Tiemoue Bakayoko’s career at Chelsea and discussed what his future in football looks like. For those who haven’t read the introductory piece to this series, a different player will be the subject of a new article every day. I began with goalkeepers and am currently in the process of working my way up the pitch, with each position group being sorted in order by the way in which they appear on the club’s website.

As I move on with the loan army series, I continue the deep dive into the midfield loanees with Lewis Baker. After we discussed players like Ethan Ampadu, Davide Zappacosta and Bakayoko recently, we return to the long line of loanees that have played a majority of their careers with the Blues. Baker has been employed by the club for more than half of his life, so let’s break down his time in west London.

More from Chelsea FC Loan Watch

• Chelsea: The €30m January signing who will highly excel with Pochettino’s appointment
• Chelsea loan Army: How Ian Maatsen has got on at Burnley
• What’s next for Chelsea’s Conor Gallagher as asking price revealed?
• The next man up for Chelsea: Left back Ian Maatsen
• The next man up for Chelsea: Center forward Mason Burstow

What does Lewis Baker’s Chelsea career look like?

Baker began his career during the 2004/05 campaign with Luton Town’s youth sides. Just nine at the time, the Luton native spent less than a calendar year with his hometown club before moving to Chelsea. Baker was a sought after youngster, attracting the attention of some of London’s finest—like QPR, Arsenal, Charlton Athletic and Wimbledon—as well as Aston Villa and Derby County. He spent nine years in the Blues’ youth ranks before making the full jump to senior football in 2014.

The midfielder made his professional debut in early 2014, replacing Oscar as a late-game FA Cup substitute. It was the following campaign that Baker found himself named to the first team. He was on the bench for a handful of matches in the League Cup—against Bolton Wanderers and Shrewsbury Town—but failed to get onto the pitch in either tie. It was his lack of playing time that saw him loaned out for the first time in January of 2015.

Baker’s first loan away saw him join Sheffield Wednesday until the end of the season. He made just four appearances during his first month and was recalled by the Blues mid-February due to his lack of playing time. He was loaned out for the second time in two months, this time joining League One giants Milton Keynes Dons. Baker saw out the season alongside Delle Alli in midfield, playing 12 matches. His three goals and two assists helped MK Dons earn automatic promotion into the Championship.

His performances at MK Dons earned him the right of passage loan that any Chelsea youngster makes. Baker was sent to Vitesse for two consecutive seasons; the 2015-17 stint representing the most successful of his career to date. The 20-year-old played in a total of 73 games, racking up 31 total goal contributions (20G/11A). Baker helped Vitesse capture the KNVB Cup title for the first time in 125 years in one of his final contests.

Unfortunately, Baker has failed to recoup his Vitesse form in any loan since. His impressive time in Holland earned him a new five-year deal before he joined Middlesborough for 2017/18. Baker was a favorite of then-manager Garry Monk, playing in 12 games under the gaffer. Monk was dismissed by the club and for one reason or another, Tony Pulis didn’t see much potential in Baker. He went on to play in just two games with Pulis at the helm.

Luckily, Leeds United still saw Baker as a capable Championship player and moved for him the following season. His struggles continued under new manager Marcelo Bielsa though as he only managed to see the pitch 14 times, failing to score a single goal in the process. Baker was recalled once again and shipped out to fellow Championship side Reading. He played just shy of 20 league matches—and had one goal and assist respectively—as the struggle for stats continued.

Baker found himself going abroad once again during the 2019/20 season when he was loaned out to Bundesliga’s Fortuna Dusseldorf. The loan included an option to buy, but after the midfielder made just nine appearances and racked up more cards than goal contributions, the German club declined to purchase him. This brings us up to date, where Baker was loaned out for an eighth club, this time to Trabzonspor. The 25-year-old has regained some form in the Turkish top flight, registering one goal and five assists across 30 games.

This begs the question: what does Chelsea do with Baker this summer?

Verdict: Sell

It’s time for the Blues to stop stringing Baker along. He’s failed to find the form he was in during his time with Vitesse and that’s reason enough to sell him. Factor in the fact that he’s got one-year left on his contract, his struggles in the Championship and the fact there’s no room for him in the Chelsea first team, it’s a no-brainer. The Blues need to drastically decrease the number of loanees they currently have, trimming the fat begins with Baker.

Remember to check back with The Pride of London each and every day as I dive into the largely uncharted world of Chelsea’s famous loan army. Part 19’s subject is midfielder Ross Barkley.