Chelsea should hang their heads in shame for failing 24 y/o Mourinho gushed about - opinion

Chelsea only have themselves to blame for Lewis Baker's unfulfilled potential

This article is part of Football FanCast’s Opinion series, which provides analysis, insight and opinion on any issue within the beautiful game, from Paul Pogba’s haircuts to League Two relegation battles…

Despite being regarded as one of Chelsea’s brightest youth prospects and being named the club’s Young Player of the Year for the 2013/2014 campaign, Lewis Baker’s career has been a tale of unfulfilled potential.


The 24-year-old’s journey has taken him on spells abroad and into the lower leagues of English football, but year after year, his chances of forcing himself into first-team contention at Stamford Bridge have slowly slipped away.

Now, as confirmed by the club’s official website, Baker will once again spend the upcoming season away from Chelsea after joining Bundesliga side Fortuna Dusseldorf.

Since making his senior debut for the Blues back in January 2014, Baker has spent time on loan at (and take a deep breath here) Sheffield Wednesday, MK Dons, Vitesse, Middlesbrough, Leeds, Reading and now Fortuna. Not exactly the kind of career he would have imagined after Jose Mourinho’s proclamation.

Back in 2014, the then Chelsea boss waxed lyrical about the young potential he had at the club and took personal responsibility for their development. He declared: “My conscience is simple. If, in a few years, Baker, (Isaiah) Brown and (Dominic) Solanke are not national team players, I should blame myself.”

Well the fact is, Mourinho, and a whole host of other Chelsea managers and staff, have to now take the blame for how Baker’s career has panned out, while Brown has struggled with injuries and Solanke is waiting in the wings to prove his worth at Bournemouth.

The midfielder’s resume at youth level is really quite something, as he added a goal of the season award to his YPOTY in 13/14 and also scored the goal that clinched the title for the young Blues. He even showed his credentials at international level when he won the Golden Boot as the England U21s won the 2016 Toulon Tournament.

His performances for Vitesse in the 2016/2017 season saw him net 15 goals and register a further seven assists as he inspired the Dutch side to lift the KNVB Cup. That summer should have been the time for Chelsea to really give Baker the keys to the kingdom, and see whether he could genuinely make a success of it.

Instead, the 24-year-old was shipped out on loan again and has since fallen completely off the radar with spells at various Championship sides.

Frank Lampard’s arrival heralds what could be an academy revolution, ushering in a new dawn at Stamford Bridge where young talents are nourished and offered pathways into the first-team, rather than pawned off to whatever club needs an extra shirt for the season.

It may just be too little too late for Baker though, and the club have no one to blame but themselves.