Chelea’s midfield starlet Lewis Baker was not ready for Leeds United or Derby County in 2014 – but they’re crying out for him now.
As it stands, Leeds United appear set for a place in the Championship play-offs despite scoring fewer goals than Brentford, Barnsley, Nottingham Forest and Cardiff City this season. While that is an indication of how defence can also be the best form of attack, it’s clear that Garry Monk’s side could do with an extra spark of creativity.
So could Derby County, their promotion challenge undermined by a tally of 42 goals in 39 games.
Therefore, young Chelsea midfielder Lewis Baker would appear a truly inspired signing – more so than when he was first linked back in 2014 by the Derby Telegraph.
He was just 19 at the time and the newly crowned Chelsea Young Player of the Year. Fast forward three seasons, however, and Baker is still yet to make his league debut in the London club’s colours.
And, eventually signing for Sheffield Wednesday on loan not long after links with Leeds and Derby, a tally of four appearances suggests he wasn’t ready for regular first-team football.
Now, however, that is a different story. Baker has spent the last two seasons at Eredivisie feeder club Vitesse, honing his talents and showing exactly why he was capped 13 times by the England Under-21s, scoring seven times in the process.
A free-kick master with a penchant for a long-range wondergoal, Baker has netted 14 games in all competitions for Henk Fraser’s side this season. Few midfielders in Holland can match his productivity or influence.
If Chelsea allow him to remain in England next season, there’s little doubt that the 21-year-old is now ready to prove his worth. And he could be that goalscoring, midfield dynamo that Leeds and Derby have craved all season.
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