Lewis Baker (footballer)

Lewis Baker

Baker with Vitesse Arnhem in 2015
Personal information
Full name Lewis Renard Baker[1]
Date of birth (1995-04-25) 25 April 1995[2]
Place of birth Luton, England[2]
Height 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)[2]
Playing position Midfielder
Club information
Current team
 Vitesse Arnhem
(on loan from Chelsea)
Number 34
Youth career
2004–2005 Luton Town[3]
2005–2014 Chelsea
Senior career*
Years Team Apps† (Gls)†
2014– Chelsea 0 (0)
2015 → Sheffield Wednesday (loan) 4 (0)
2015 → Milton Keynes Dons (loan) 12 (3)
2015– → Vitesse (loan) 30 (5)
National team‡
2011 England U17 7 (1)
2013–2014 England U19 14 (9)
2014–2015 England U20 9 (2)
2015– England U21 1 (0)

* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 15:56, 1 May 2016 (UTC).
† Appearances (goals)

‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 22:25, 13 October 2015 (UTC)

Lewis Renard Baker (born 25 April 1995) is an English professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Dutch club Vitesse Arnhem, on loan from Chelsea.

Career

Chelsea

Baker joined Chelsea as a nine-year-old in 2005, having previously attended Luton Town's "centre of excellence" and attracted the attention of Queens Park Rangers, Charlton Athletic, Aston Villa, Derby County, Wimbledon, and Arsenal.[3] He subsequently progressed through Chelsea's academy and reserve teams.[2]

2013–14 season

On 5 January 2014, Baker made his professional debut as an 87th-minute substitute for Oscar in a 2–0 FA Cup third round win over Derby County at Pride Park.[4]

2014–15 season

On 29 July 2014, Chelsea manager José Mourinho said that he should be blamed if Baker would not become a senior England international under his management.[5] Baker became a permanent member of Chelsea's first team squad at the beginning of the 2014–15 season.[6] He was named on the bench for Chelsea's games against Bolton Wanderers and Shrewsbury Town in the League Cup, but he did not make an appearance in either match.

Although Baker did not make a single appearances before his loan moves, Mourinho stated that he would receive a winner's medal for his contributions this season.[7]

Loan to Sheffield Wednesday

On 8 January 2015, Baker was loaned to Sheffield Wednesday until 2 May 2015.[8][9] He made his league debut as a second-half substitute, replacing Jacques Maghoma in the Owls 2–0 away win at Nottingham Forest two days later. On 27 January 2015, Baker made his first start against Birmingham City which ended 0–0 draw. On 10 February 2015, Baker was recalled by his parent club after spending a month in Sheffield and making 4 appearances.[10]

Loan to MK Dons

On 25 February 2015, Baker joined Milton Keynes Dons on loan until the end of the season.[11] After making his debut in a 2–1 loss to Coventry City,[12] Baker scored his first senior goal on his second appearance for the club, in a 2–1 defeat at home to Chesterfield.[13] On 21 March, he scored his second goal for the club during a 4–1 win at home to Notts County, keeping alive the club's chances of automatic promotion.[14] Baker was earned the praise of MK Dons's manager, Karl Robinson; in his interview, Robinson stated that "he's very fortunate to have him playing for him" and that Baker is "one of the hardest working players he's ever worked with".[15] On 14 April 2015 during the game against Fleetwood Town, Baker hit the crossbar in the first half; but in the second half, he scored the opening goal as MK Dons went on to win 3–0.[16]

Loan to Vitesse

On 26 June 2015, Baker joined Vitesse Arnhem on a season-long loan to gain first team experience abroad.[17] On 4 July 2015, Baker made his debut for Vitesse in a friendly against KV Oostende, playing the first half.[18] He made his competitive debut 26 days later in a UEFA Europa League third qualifying round first leg against Southampton at St. Mary's, playing the full 90 minutes of a 3–0 defeat and giving away the ball to Shane Long to score the final goal.[19] On 9 August, Baker made his Eredivisie debut in a 1-1 draw against Willem II where he played the full 90 minutes; five days later he scored a penalty after Ard van Peppen's handball to open a 3–0 home victory over Roda JC.[20] On 30 August, Baker scored the opener of a 4–1 victory over SC Cambuur, he also had another goal ruled out.[21]

International career

Baker has represented England at under-17, under-19 and England under-20 levels.[22] In August 2014, Baker was called up to the England under-20 squad and named as captain of the side for the forthcoming season, making a goalscoring debut against Romania on 5 September.[23] In September 2014, Baker was called up to the England under-21 squad for the first time for a two legged 2015 European U21 Championship play-off tie against Croatia.[24]

Career statistics

As of 1 May 2016.[25]
Club Season League Cup Europe Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Chelsea 2013–14[26] Premier League 001[lower-alpha 1]00000 10
2014–15[27] 00000000 00
Total 00100000 10
Sheffield Wednesday (loan) 2014–15[27] Championship 4000—— 40
Milton Keynes Dons (loan) 2014–15[27] League One 12300—— 123
Vitesse (loan) 2015–16[28] Eredivisie 3051[lower-alpha 2]02[lower-alpha 3]000 335
Career totals 468202000508
  1. ↑ Appearance(s) in FA Cup
  2. ↑ Appearance(s) in KNVB Cup
  3. ↑ Appearance(s) in UEFA Europa League

Honours

Club

Chelsea Reserves
Milton Keynes Dons

Individual

References

  1. ↑ "Barclays Premier League Squad Lists 2013/14 are revealed". Premier League. Retrieved 5 January 2014.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "Lewis Baker player profile". http://www.chelseafc.com/. Chelsea FC. Retrieved 4 September 2014. External link in |work= (help)
  3. 1 2 "Striker, 9, joins league leaders". news.bbc.co.uk September 2014. External link in |website= (help)
  4. ↑ "Derby 0 – 2 Chelsea". BBC. Retrieved 5 January 2014.
  5. ↑ Todd, Oliver. "Jose Mourinho says if Chelsea kids Lewis Baker, Izzy Brown and Dominic Solanke don't play for England, 'blame me!'". Daily Mail. Retrieved 25 February 2015.
  6. ↑ "Academy graduates in first team squad". Chelsea FC. Retrieved 25 February 2015.
  7. ↑ Every Chelsea player to get a Premier League medal says Jose Mourinho | ESPN
  8. ↑ "Baker loan to Owls". Chelsea. 8 January 2015. Retrieved 8 January 2015.
  9. ↑ "Lewis Baker: Chelsea midfielder joins Sheffield Wednesday on loan". BBC Sport. 8 January 2015. Retrieved 8 January 2015.
  10. ↑ "Chelsea recall midfielder Lewis Baker from Sheffield Wednesday loan". Sky Sports. 10 February 2015. Retrieved 11 February 2015.
  11. ↑ "Chelsea midfielder Lewis Baker makes MK Dons loan move". BBC Sport. Retrieved 25 February 2015.
  12. ↑ "Coventry City 2–1 Milton Keynes Dons" BBC Sport. 28 February 2015. Retrieved 22 March 2015.
  13. ↑ "Milton Keynes Dons 1–2 Chesterfield" BBC Sport. 3 March 2015. Retrieved 22 March 2015.
  14. ↑ "Milton Keynes Dons 4–1 Notts County" BBC Sport. 21 March 2015. Retrieved 22 March 2015.
  15. ↑ " CHELSEA: MK Dons loanee Lewis baker hailed for work rate as player misses England v USA victory" MK Dons. 30 March 2015. Retrieved 30 March 2015.
  16. ↑ "Fleetwood Town 0–3 MK Dons: Rampant Dons move within three points" MK Dons. 14 April 2015. Retrieved 14 April 2015.
  17. ↑ "Netherlands loan for Baker". Chelsea F.C. 26 June 2015.
  18. ↑ "Samenvatting Vitesse vs KV Oostende" (in Dutch). Vitesse. 4 July 2015.
  19. ↑ Williams, Adam (30 July 2015). "Southampton 3-0 Vitesse". BBC Sport. Retrieved 7 August 2015.
  20. ↑ "Chelsea loanees among the goals as Vitesse win". Eurosport. Reuters. 14 August 2015. Retrieved 14 August 2015.
  21. ↑ "Vitesse vs Cambuur". Vitese. 14 September 2015. Retrieved 30 August 2015.
  22. ↑ "Lewis Baker". http://www.thefa.com/. The FA. Retrieved 5 January 2014. External link in |work= (help)
  23. ↑ "Boothroyd's boys hit Romania for six in Telford". thefa.com Football Association. Retrieved 5 September 2014. External link in |website= (help)
  24. ↑ "England Under-21s squad selected for Euro play-off tie". The FA. Retrieved 25 February 2015.
  25. ↑ Lewis Baker profile at Soccerway
  26. ↑ "Games played by Lewis Baker in 2013/2014". Soccerbase (Centurycomm). Retrieved 5 September 2014.
  27. 1 2 3 "Games played by Lewis Baker in 2014/2015". Soccerbase (Centurycomm). Retrieved 5 September 2014.
  28. ↑ "Games played by Lewis Baker in 2015/2016". Soccerbase (Centurycomm). Retrieved 26 June 2015.
  29. ↑ "MK Dons 5–1 Yeovil (Match Report)". BBC Sport. 3 May 2015.
  30. 1 2 "Player of the Year Awards 2014". youtube.com FC. Retrieved 14 July 2014. External link in |website= (help)

External links

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