Lewis Renard Baker (born 25 April 1995) is an English professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby ...

who plays as a

midfielder A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

for

EFL Championship The English Football League Championship (often referred to as the Championship for short or the Sky Bet Championship for sponsorship purposes) is the highest division of the English Football League (EFL) and second-highest overall in the E ...

club

Stoke City Stoke City Football Club is a professional football club based in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England, which competes in the . Founded as Stoke Ramblers in 1863, it changed its name to Stoke in 1878 and then to Stoke City in 1925 after Stoke ...

. Baker joined

Chelsea Chelsea or Chelsey may refer to: Places Australia * Chelsea, Victoria Canada * Chelsea, Nova Scotia * Chelsea, Quebec United Kingdom * Chelsea, London, an area of London, bounded to the south by the River Thames ** Chelsea (UK Parliament consti ...

from

Luton Town Luton Town Football Club () is a professional association football club based in the town of Luton, Bedfordshire, England, that competes in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1885, it is nicknam ...

at a young age progressing through the youth teams, making his first team debut in January 2014. He gained experience out on loan at

Sheffield Wednesday Sheffield Wednesday Football Club is a professional association football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. The team competes in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. Formed in 1867 as an offshoot of ...

and

Milton Keynes Dons Milton Keynes Dons Football Club (), usually abbreviated to MK Dons, is a professional association football club based in Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, England. The team competes in , the third tier of the English football league system. The ...

before spending a two year loan at Dutch club Vitesse. Baker continued to go out on loan playing for

Middlesbrough Middlesbrough ( ) is a town on the southern bank of the River Tees in North Yorkshire, England. It is near the North York Moors national park. It is the namesake and main town of its local borough council area. Until the early 1800s, the a ...

Leeds United Leeds United Football Club is a professional football club based in Leeds, West Yorkshire in England. The club competes in the Premier League, the highest level of England's football league system, and plays its home matches at Elland Road S ...

Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of Letter (alphabet), letters, symbols, etc., especially by Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifaceted process invo ...

, German side

Fortuna Düsseldorf Düsseldorfer Turn- und Sportverein Fortuna 1895 e.V., commonly known as Fortuna Düsseldorf (), is a German football club in Düsseldorf, North Rhine-Westphalia, which competes in the 2. Bundesliga. Founded in 1895, Fortuna entered the league ...

and Turkish club

Trabzonspor Trabzonspor Kulübü is a Turkish sports club located in the city of Trabzon. Formed in 1967 through a merger of several local clubs, the men's football team has won seven Süper Lig championships. Trabzonspor also have a women's football team, ...

. After briefly returning to the Chelsea first team in January 2022, Baker signed for

on a permanent basis.

Club career

Chelsea

Baker joined

as a nine-year-old in 2005, having previously attended

's centre of excellence and attracted the attention of

Queens Park Rangers Queens Park Rangers Football Club, commonly abbreviated to QPR, is a professional football club based in Shepherd's Bush, West London, England, which compete in the . After a nomadic early existence, they have played home matches at Loftus Ro ...

Charlton Athletic Charlton Athletic Football Club is an English professional football club based in Charlton, south-east London, which compete in . Their home ground is The Valley, where the club have played since 1919. They have also played at The Mount in ...

Aston Villa Aston Villa Football Club is a professional football club based in Aston, Birmingham, England. The club competes in the , the top tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1874, they have played at their home ground, Villa Park ...

Derby County Derby County Football Club () is a professional association football club based in Derby, Derbyshire, England. In 2022, it was announced that DCFC was acquired by Clowes Developments (UK) Ltd, a Derbyshire-based property group. Founded in 188 ...

Wimbledon Wimbledon most often refers to: * Wimbledon, London, a district of southwest London * Wimbledon Championships, the oldest tennis tournament in the world and one of the four Grand Slam championships Wimbledon may also refer to: Places London * ...

, and

Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...

. He subsequently progressed through Chelsea's academy and reserve teams. On 5 January 2014, Baker made his professional debut as an 87th-minute substitute for

Oscar Oscar, OSCAR, or The Oscar may refer to: People * Oscar (given name), an Irish- and English-language name also used in other languages; the article includes the names Oskar, Oskari, Oszkár, Óscar, and other forms. * Oscar (Irish mythology), ...

in a 2–0

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...

third round win over

Pride Park Pride Park is a business park on the outskirts of the city centre of Derby, England. Developed in the 1990s, It covers 80 hectares of former industrial land between the River Derwent and railway lines. Pride Park Stadium and Derby Arena are both ...

. On 24 April 2014, Baker scored a goal against Arsenal Under 21 in the Professional U21 Development League, which was voted to be the goal of the season. Baker became a permanent member of Chelsea's first team squad at the beginning of the 2014–15 season. He was named on the bench for Chelsea's games against

Bolton Wanderers Bolton Wanderers Football Club () is a professional football club based in Horwich, Bolton, Greater Manchester, England, which competes in . The club played at Burnden Park for 102 years from 1895 after moving from their original home at Pike's ...

and

Shrewsbury Town Shrewsbury Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Shrewsbury, Shropshire, England. The team competes in League One, the third tier of English football. The club plays its home games at the New Meadow, having mo ...

in the

League Cup In several sports, most prominently association football, a league cup or secondary cup generally signifies a cup competition for which entry is restricted only to teams in a particular league. The first national association football tournament t ...

, but he did not make an appearance in either match. Although Baker did not make a single appearance before his loan moves, Mourinho stated that he would receive a winner's medal for his contributions that season.

Loan spells

Sheffield Wednesday

On 8 January 2015, Baker was loaned to

until 2 May 2015. He made his league debut as a second-half substitute, replacing

Jacques Maghoma Jacques Ilonda Maghoma (born 23 October 1987) is a Congolese former professional footballer who made 380 appearances in the Football League between 2009 and 2020 and 25 for the DR Congo national team between 2010 and 2019. A midfielder, Magho ...

in the Owls' 2–0 away win at

Nottingham Forest Nottingham Forest Football Club is an association football club based in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, England. Nottingham Forest was founded in 1865 and have been playing their home games at the City Ground, on the banks of the River Tren ...

two days later. On 27 January 2015, he made his first start against Birmingham City which ended 0–0 draw. On 10 February 2015, he was recalled by his parent club after spending a month in Sheffield and making four appearances.

Milton Keynes Dons

On 25 February 2015, Baker joined

on loan until the end of the season. After making his debut in a 2–1 loss to

Coventry City Coventry City Football Club is a professional association football club based in Coventry, West Midlands, England. The team currently compete in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. The club is nicknamed t ...

, he scored his first senior goal on his second appearance for the club, in a 2–1 defeat at home to

Chesterfield Chesterfield may refer to: Places Canada * Rural Municipality of Chesterfield No. 261, Saskatchewan * Chesterfield Inlet, Nunavut United Kingdom * Chesterfield, Derbyshire, a market town in England ** Chesterfield (UK Parliament constitue ...

. On 21 March, he scored his second goal for the club during a 4–1 win at home to

Notts County Notts County Football Club is a professional association football club based in Nottingham, England. The team participate in the National League (division), National League, the fifth tier of the English football league system. Founded on the 2 ...

, keeping alive the club's chances of automatic promotion. He 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 he is "one of the hardest working players he's ever worked with". On 14 April 2015 during the game against

Fleetwood Town Fleetwood Town Football Club is an English professional association football club based in the town of Fleetwood, Lancashire. Established in 1997, the current Fleetwood Town F.C. is the fourth incarnation of the club; it was originally formed in ...

, 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. His form, playing alongside

Dele Alli Bamidele Jermaine Alli ( ; born 11 April 1996) is an English professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder for club Beşiktaş, on loan from Premier League club Everton. Born and raised in Milton Keynes, he joined the youth ...

in midfield, helped MK Dons gain promoted from

League One The English Football League One (often referred to as League One for short or Sky Bet League One for sponsorship purposes, and known as the Football League One from 2004 until 2016) is the second-highest division of the English Football Leag ...

by finishing the 2014–15 season as runners-Up.

Vitesse

2015–16

On 26 June 2015, Baker joined Dutch club Vitesse on a season-long loan to gain first team experience abroad. On 4 July 2015, he made his debut for Vitesse in a friendly against

KV Oostende Koninklijke Voetbalclub Oostende, also called KV Oostende () or KVO, is a Belgian football club from the city of Ostend, West Flanders in Belgium. The team was founded in 1904 as ''VG Oostende'' and has the matricule No. 31. History In 1911, a ...

, playing the first half. He made his competitive debut 26 days later in a

UEFA Europa League The UEFA Europa League (abbreviated as UEL, or sometimes, UEFA EL), formerly the UEFA Cup, is an annual football club competition organised since 1971 by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European football clubs. It ...

third qualifying round first leg against

Southampton Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...

at St. Mary's, playing the full 90 minutes of a 3–0 defeat and giving away the ball to

Shane Long Shane Patrick Long (born 22 January 1987) is an Irish professional footballer who plays as a striker for EFL Championship club Reading and the Republic of Ireland national team. He also played hurling for the Tipperary county team in his early ...

to score the final goal. On 9 August, he made his

Eredivisie The Eredivisie (; ''"Honour Division"'' or ''"Premier Division"'') is the highest level of professional football in the Netherlands. The league was founded in 1956, two years after the start of professional football in the Netherlands. It is c ...

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 Sportvereniging Roda Juliana Combinatie Kerkrade (; Ripuarian: ), also known as Roda JC Kerkrade () or commonly Roda JC or Roda, is a Dutch professional football club based in Kerkrade, Netherlands. Roda JC Kerkrade plays in the Eerste Divisi ...

. On 30 August, he scored the opener of a 4–1 victory over

SC Cambuur SC Cambuur, also known as Cambuur Leeuwarden, or simply Cambuur, () is a Dutch football club from the city of Leeuwarden formed on 19 June 1964. They currently play in the Eredivisie, the top tier of Dutch football, after winning the 2020–21 Ee ...

, he also had another goal ruled out. On 18 October, he again scored the opener in a 5–1 victory over

PEC Zwolle PEC Zwolle is a Dutch football club based in Zwolle, Netherlands. They play in the Eerste Divisie, the second tier of Dutch football, following relegation from the Eredivisie in the 2021–22 season. They have played in the Eredivisie for a total ...

. On 21 February 2016, he scored late in the game against

De Graafschap VBV De Graafschap () is a professional football club from Doetinchem, Netherlands, playing in the Eerste Divisie, the second tier of Dutch football. It was formed on 1 February 1954 and they play their home games at the De Vijverberg stadium. ...

, saving Vitesse from a loss to their local rivals. At the end of the season, this goal was voted Goal of the Season at the Dutch club. On 3 April he set a record for the season creating 9 chances in a single game; he also scored a magnificent free-kick from 27 yards, but his performance was not enough to save Vitesse from a 2–1 loss against

NEC Nijmegen NEC Nijmegen (''Nijmegen Eendracht Combinatie''), commonly known as NEC (), is a professional Dutch association football club based in Nijmegen. The club currently competes in the Eredivisie, the top tier of Dutch football, following promotion fr ...

2016–17

On 24 June 2016, Baker's loan at Vitesse was extended for the 2016–17 campaign. Baker continued his role in the three-man midfield in the first match of the season against Willem II in a 4–1 win. On 20 August 2016, Baker scored his first goal of the season in a 1–0 win against

. On 14 December 2016, Baker scored his 10th goal of the season in a

KNVB Cup The KNVB Beker (; en, KNVB Cup), branded as the TOTO KNVB Beker for sponsorship reasons, is a competition in the Netherlands organized by the Royal Dutch Football Association (KNVB) since 1898. It was based on the format of the English FA Cup. Ou ...

tie against fifth tier side, Jodan Boys. The game resulted in a 4–0 victory for Vitesse, with Baker slotting home a penalty in the 52nd minute. On 28 December 2016, ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'' named Baker as one of 10 rising stars to watch in 2017. On 15 January 2017, Baker was sent off in a controversial decision in Vitesse's 3–1 victory over

Twente Twente ( nl, Twente , Tweants dialect: ''Tweante'') is a region in the eastern Netherlands. It encompasses the most urbanised and easternmost part of the province of Overijssel. Twente is most likely named after the Tuihanti or Tvihanti, a Germ ...

, in which he also scored his side's first goal. On 1 March 2017, Baker scored twice in a 2–1 victory over Sparta Rotterdam to send Vitesse to the KNVB Cup final for the first time in twenty-seven years. He played as Vitesse won the final of the

KNVB Beker The KNVB Beker (; en, KNVB Cup), branded as the TOTO KNVB Beker for sponsorship reasons, is a competition in the Netherlands organized by the Royal Dutch Football Association (KNVB) since 1898. It was based on the format of the English FA Cup. Ou ...

2–0 against

AZ Alkmaar Alkmaar Zaanstreek (), better known as AZ Alkmaar or simply AZ (), is a Dutch professional football club from Alkmaar and the Zaan district. The club plays in the Eredivisie, the highest professional football league in the Netherlands, and ho ...

on 30 April 2017 to lead the club, 3-time runners up, to the title for the first time in its 125-year history.

Middlesbrough

On 11 August 2017, after signing a new five-year deal with Chelsea, Baker joined

Championship In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this system ...

side

on a season-long loan. He scored his first goal for Middlesbrough in an

EFL Cup The EFL Cup (referred to historically, and colloquially, as the League Cup), currently known as the Carabao Cup for sponsorship reasons, is an annual knockout competition and major trophy in men's domestic football in England. Organised by the ...

tie against Scunthorpe United on 22 August 2017. He scored his first in the league for

in a 3–2 win against

on 16 September 2017. After featuring more regularly under then manager

Garry Monk Garry Alan Monk (born 6 March 1979) is an English football manager and former professional player who played as a centre back, and was most recently the manager of Championship club Sheffield Wednesday. His managerial career includes spells at ...

, making 12 appearances in all competition by the end of October, with Monk's dismissal, Baker only featured twice under new manager

Tony Pulis Anthony Richard Pulis (; born 16 January 1958) is a Welsh football manager and former footballer who last managed Sheffield Wednesday. Pulis obtained his FA coaching badge at age 19, followed by his UEFA 'A' licence aged 21 – making him on ...

during the remainder of the season. Making 14 appearances in all competitions.

Leeds United

On 30 June 2018, Baker joined

on loan for the 2018–19 season. With Baker becoming new head coach

Marcelo Bielsa Marcelo Alberto Bielsa Caldera (, nicknamed ''El Loco Bielsa'' , meaning "The Crazy Bielsa"; born 21 July 1955) is an Argentine professional football manager who was most recently the head coach of Premier League club Leeds United. He is a forme ...

's first signing for Leeds. He made his debut for Leeds in the opening game of the season on 5 August 2018, as a substitute against

at Elland Road in a 3–1 win. On 14 August, Baker made his first start for Leeds, starting for Leeds in an

match against

. After making all his prior league appearances as a substitute, on 27 November 2018 Baker made his first start in the league for Leeds in a 1–0 win against

. After making 14 appearances for Leeds in the first half of the season he was recalled by Chelsea.

Reading

On 9 January 2019, Baker was recalled from

and sent on loan to

until the end of the 2018–19 season. Baker played more regularly with the Royals, making 19 appearances, scoring once against

Hull City Hull City Association Football Club is a professional football club based in Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England, that compete in the . They have played home games at the MKM Stadium since moving from Boothferry Park in 2002. The club's t ...

Fortuna Düsseldorf

On 24 July 2019, Baker joined

Bundesliga The Bundesliga (; ), sometimes referred to as the Fußball-Bundesliga () or 1. Bundesliga (), is a professional association football league in Germany. At the top of the German football league system, the Bundesliga is Germany's primary footba ...

club

on loan for the 2019–20 season His loan with Fortuna Düsseldorf was cancelled in January 2020, after making nine appearances.

Trabzonspor

On 18 September 2020, Baker continued his loan journey this time with the Turkish side

until the end of 2020–21 season. One day later, on 19 September, he made his club debut as a starter in a 0–0 draw against

Denizlispor Denizlispor, due to current sponsorship Altaş Denizlispor, is a Turkish sports club based in Denizli. It is known by its distinct green and black colors. The club's branches include football, volleyball, basketball, table tennis, and gymnastics. ...

. Baker was a regular at Trabzonspor, playing 36 times and helped them to beat İstanbul Başakşehir in the 2020 Turkish Super Cup.

Return to Chelsea

After failing to gain a move away from Chelsea in the 2021 summer transfer window Baker played for Chelsea U23s in the

EFL Trophy The English Football League Trophy, known for sponsorship purposes as the Papa Johns Trophy after restaurant chain Papa John's Pizza, is an annual English association football knockout competition open to all clubs in EFL League One and EFL Le ...

. On 8 January 2022, Baker made his second appearance for Chelsea, his first since 2014, as a substitute in an 5–1

win over

Stoke City

On 15 January 2022, Baker joined

side

on a two-and-a-half year contract. On 16 January, he made his debut for the club as a substitute in a 2–0 win over

. He scored his first goal for Stoke on 22 January 2022 in a 3–2 defeat against

Fulham Fulham () is an area of the London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham in West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It lies on the north bank of the River Thames, bordering Hammersmith, Kensington and Chelsea. The area faces Wandsworth ...

. Baker had a productive start to his Stoke career, scoring eight goals in 21 appearances in the second half of the 2021–22 season. In June 2022, Baker signed a new three-year contract with the club. Baker was appointed club captain for the 2022–23 season.

International career

Baker was born in England and is of Jamaican descent. Baker has represented England at under-17, under-19 and England under-20 levels. In August 2014, he 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. In September 2014, he 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 , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...

. In 2016, Baker was part of the England squad for the

Toulon Tournament The Toulon Tournament (officially the Festival International "Espoirs" – Tournoi Maurice Revello) is a football (training match) tournament, which traditionally features invited national teams composed of youth players from U-17 to U-23 level. ...

and scored the opening goal in the 2–1 victory over

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

in the final. His tally of four goals throughout the competition also earned him the Golden Boot award.

Personal life

Baker's father Audley, is a six-time world powerlifting champion and was the first powerlifter to win four consecutive world titles.

Career statistics

Honours

Milton Keynes Dons *

Football League One The English Football League One (often referred to as League One for short or Sky Bet League One for sponsorship purposes, and known as the Football League One from 2004 until 2016) is the second-highest division of the English Football Leag ...

runner-up: 2014–15 Vitesse *

: 2016–17 Trabzonspor *

Turkish Super Cup The Turkish Super Cup ( Turkish: ''TFF Süper Kupa''), as it is currently known, is the annual super cup football match contested between the previous season's Süper Lig champions and the Turkish Cup winners in Turkey. It was originally known ...

2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, COVID- ...

England U21 *

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...

Individual * NextGen Series Player of the Tournament: 2012–13 * Chelsea Young Player of the Year: 2013–14 * Chelsea Goal of the Year: 2013–14 *

Golden Boot:

* KNVB Cup Top scorer: 2016–17

References

External links

Chelsea F.C. player profile
*
England profile
at The FA {{DEFAULTSORT:Baker, Lewis 1995 births Living people English sportspeople of Jamaican descent Black British sportspeople Footballers from Luton English footballers Association football midfielders Chelsea F.C. players Sheffield Wednesday F.C. players Milton Keynes Dons F.C. players SBV Vitesse players Middlesbrough F.C. players Leeds United F.C. players Reading F.C. players Stoke City F.C. players Fortuna Düsseldorf players Trabzonspor footballers English Football League players Eredivisie players Bundesliga players Süper Lig players England youth international footballers England under-21 international footballers English expatriate footballers English expatriate sportspeople in the Netherlands English expatriate sportspeople in Germany English expatriate sportspeople in Turkey Expatriate footballers in the Netherlands Expatriate footballers in Germany Expatriate footballers in Turkey