Chelsea loanee Lewis Baker already a leader at Fortuna Düsseldorf

Lewis Baker’s weekend did not exactly play out as one would’ve hoped. Credited with an own goal just six minutes into their game against Bayer Leverkusen on Saturday, the Chelsea loanee would not see out the end of the game, getting hooked on 67 minutes in the eventual 3-1 home defeat.

Having already established himself as a key player and one of the vocal leaders for Fortuna Düsseldorf, it was surely a disappointing afternoon for the 24-year-old who had formed a strong early partnership in midfield with USA international Alfredo Morales.

In fact, before the game, another one of Lewis’s teammates, Fortuna captain Oliver Fink, spoke highly of him and his leadership skills.

“I like it when he talks, even when it’s hard to understand. It is something different. We’ve never had something like that here.”

-Oliver Fink; source: Bild via Sport Witness

Teammate Niko Giesselman concurred.

”Lewis pushes us in the dressing room before training and games. No one understands him, but we all know what he means. On the pitch there are no communication problems.”

-Niko Giesselman; source: Bild via Sport Witness

Baker had proven pivotal for the Chelsea youth teams as well as for Vitesse during his time there, and it’s certainly good to see him waste no time in making an impact at Fortuna. Now they just need to put this weekend’s defeat behind themselves,

Once one of the most promising youth prospects in the Chelsea Academy, Baker has kind of lost his way since impressing at Vitesse. Düsseldorf do have a buy-option on his loan, though Baker does also have three more years left on his Chelsea contract, so his future could yet take a few interesting turns.

For now, we wish him all the best in the Bundesliga.