The list of Chelsea academy graduates integrated into the first-team squad by Frank Lampard this season is a long one.
Mason Mount, Tammy Abraham, Reece James, Fikayo Tomori and Billy Gilmour have all impressed in the starting XI. There have also been senior debuts for Tino Anjorin, Ian Maatsen, Marc Guehi, Armando Broja and Tariq Lamptey, who has since moved on to Brighton.
To those who have watched Chelsea’s academy sides in recent seasons, their progress will have come as little surprise. Perseverance and no little talent has been rewarded.
Yet there is one name that is missing. An elegant, naturally two-footed midfielder who appeared destined for the Blues first team: Lewis Baker.
Rewind to May 2014 and the then 19-year-old seemed very much on the pathway to stardom.
He had a senior Chelsea appearance to his name and had sparkled for the club’s academy sides at home and abroad. He was crowned the Blues’ Young Player of the Year. And also scooped the Goal of the Season award for his outlandish finish in an under-21 game against Arsenal.
Jose Mourinho was even a fan. He took Baker, alongside academy teammates Izzy Brown and Dominic Solanke, on the Blues’ pre-season tour of Europe ahead of the 2014/15 campaign.
And it was during that trip the Portuguese coach made a proclamation: “My conscience tells me that if, for example, Baker, Brown, and Solanke are not national team players in a few years, I should blame myself.”
It was a strong statement yet one that appeared to have substance when Baker was selected for the England Under-21 squad in September 2014. He didn’t feature but during that call-up Baker was invited to train with the senior side after injuries left Roy Hodgson short. It was yet another indication of the midfielder’s talent.
But then came the loan moves. A seven-week loan spell at Sheffield Wednesday. A four-month stint at MK Dons. There were two seasons at Vitesse for whom Baker impressed, scoring 20 goals and helping the club win the KNVB Cup, but he was no nearer the Blues first team on his return.
In August 2017, Baker signed a new five-year deal with Chelsea and then headed off to Middlesbrough. And, in truth, it was at this point his promising career was stunted.
He made 14 appearances but only two came under Tony Pulis, who was appointed at the end of October. It sounds a little churlish but a technically gifted midfielder, one who could take corners and free-kicks with either foot, was not going to thrive under the Welshman.
But his next loan to Leeds, coached by Marcelo Bielsa, would surely pay off, especially as by his own admittance, Baker had a “point to prove”? Sadly not. He made five starts and only 14 appearances before the switch was cancelled in January 2019.
Next up was Reading and the now 23-year-old impressed alongside former academy teammate John Swift. He helped keep the side in the Championship and Royals fans wanted him to re-sign permanently. Chelsea felt differently.
Last summer he was sent to Bundesliga side Fortuna Dusseldorf. Baker started six of the club’s first seven Bundesliga games but then lost his place in the side. A familiar story.
According to a report in Bild in November, Baker was “very angry and no longer understood the world”.
And at the start of January, Fortuna coach Friedhelm Funkel claimed Baker had gone AWOL: “He's in London and supposedly sick, I can't check that,” he said. "Normally he would have been here. I don't know what the reason is that he isn't here.”
Baker’s loan was officially cut short soon after and he is back at Chelsea, although not registered in their Premier League squad. Now 24 years old, his career is in limbo.
It’s difficult to know what’s next. Baker’s talent is beyond doubt; few possess his technique and guile. But the last three seasons have undoubtedly been difficult, perhaps even confidence sapping.
“Anyone who knows me personally knows how much I love football. They know I just want to play,” Baker said last year.
Sadly that isn’t going to happen at Stamford Bridge. For the sake of his career, it’s time Chelsea’s once great hope finds a new home.
