Baker has struggled for regular game time at Leeds since his loan from Chelsea.
Lewis Baker has struggled to make an impact at Leeds United since joining the club on a season-long from Chelsea in the summer, and now his place could come even more under threat.
Baker, 23, has managed just 121 minutes of Championship action, spread across eight substitute appearances for Marcelo Bielsa’s side. The likes of Samu Saiz, Adam Forshaw and Mateusz Klich sit above him in the pecking order.
One of Chelsea’s brightest young stars, £20,000-a-week Baker (Spotrac) was expected to break into the England side and go on to reach the heights of Premier League football – especially after scoring 20 times for Vitesse on loan.
However, he is yet to break the mould of a Championship midfielder and now Leeds could even make his loan become even more non-effective. That is after reports suggested Leeds are after Brentford midfielder Lewis MacLeod.
The Sun have claimed that Leeds and Scottish side Rangers are interested in signing the 24-year-old playmaker from The Bees, after scoring two and creating two more in his 14 Championship appearances this season.
MacLeod joined Brentford from Rangers in January 2015 and he many feel as though he has unfinished business at Ibrox, but Leeds are also looking to land the midfielder’s signature. He rejected a contract at Brentford.
MacLeod could be available on the cheap in the January transfer window, as his existing contract at Griffin Park is set to expire at the end of the season. Landing the Scotsman in two months’ time is a real possibility, then.
But if Leeds do indeed sign MacLeod, preference will surely be given to the new signing and that will only push 17-time England Under-21 international Baker further down the pecking order.
Signing MacLeod will surely make Baker’s loan move even more pointless, as the Chelsea loanee has already racked up more minutes in the Under-23 side rather than Bielsa’s first team.
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
