Baker seals Stoke City switch
Chelsea midfielder Lewis Baker ended his 17-year connection to the Blues after the academy graduate sealed a switch to Championship outfit Stoke City earlier today.
Lewis Baker has signed a permanent deal with Stoke City, bringing to an end his 17-year association with Chelsea.
Wishing you all the best for the future, @lew_baker. ?
— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) January 15, 2022
As reported by the club’s official website, the Cobham academy graduate finally left west London permanently during the winter window in search of credible first-team minutes after making just a single first-team appearance this season under Thomas Tuchel when he came off the bench during the 5-1 thrashing of Chesterfield in the third round of the FA Cup.
Though he failed to leave his mark at Chelsea, Stoke City can rest easy when it comes to the deal as Baker has certainly earned credible loan stints during his time in the English capital. He joins a Potters outfit that is gunning for promotion through one of the playoff spots in the Championship and currently sitting seven points off 6th with two matches in hand on in-form Middlesbrough.
A Chelsea career that never was
The subheading may seem harsh, but the intention is to highlight the cautionary tale that has been Lewis Baker when it came to holding out hope that a legitimate chance at Chelsea would inevitably come.
(L-R) Lewis Baker of Vitesse, Jonas Svensson of AZduring the Dutch Cup Final match between AZ Alkmaar and Vitesse Arnhem on April 30, 2017 at the Kuip stadium in Rotterdam, The Netherlands.(Photo by VI Images via Getty Images)
One of many Cobham academy graduates that shone at youth level over the last seven or eight years, Lewis Baker could have very easily secured a full move away from Chelsea long ago.
The once NextGen Series Player of the Tournament (2012), Chelsea Young Player of the Year (2013-14), and Golden Boot winner at Toulon 2016, Baker had multiple credible loan stints since completing his Cobham education, but no other period away from Stamford Bridge proved his value more than when he spent two years with Eredivisie outfit SBV Vitesse from 2015-2017.
There, Baker scored a combined 20-goals and added 11-assists cross 73-appearances in all competitions for Vites, which simultaneously kept him as a vital part of the England U21 setup.
Now, players the likes of Tino Livramento, Fikayo Tomori, and Tammy Abraham have all left Chelsea in search of building career’s outside of the uncertainty that can come with a Stamford Bridge stay. For Baker, in an alternative universe, perhaps he would have done the same.
