Lewis Baker is back from super secret assignment in Arnhem — just a loan, actually — and is now ready to make his impact back in England. Whether that be with Chelsea or on loan with another team, Baker’s ready for a tougher challenge than the Eredivisie and higher quality football in general. One of the best ways for youngsters to develop — and at 22, Baker’s starting to drop out of the category — is to surround them with better players, which presumably he could find at wherever he lands next.
In that vein, the Daily Star’s rumor of Swansea City and AFC Bournemouth being interested make sense. Granted, it’s just the Star and we tend to ignore them like most tabloids, but in this case what they are peddling seems reasonable so it’s probably worth a mention.
DAILYSTAR Bournemouth and Swansea keen on landing Chelsea starlet Lewis Baker on loan
— Chelsea FC RSS Feeds (@CFCrss) June 11, 2017
BOURNEMOUTH and Swansea are… https://t.co/u0M94vLGl7
Swansea and Bournemouth make for obvious potential destinations for any Chelsea loanee given their prior relationship with the club in similar deals and the presence of both Paul Clement and Claude Makélélé at the Swans. Bournemouth already acquired goalkeeper Asmir Begović from Chelsea this summer and could be looking to add defender Nathan Aké as well. Premier League teams are only allowed one loan from another Premier League team, though Aké is unlikely to only want to move on a temporary basis once again.
In any case, Baker being linked to a Premier League team on loan is a good thing, provided we wouldn’t prefer him to stay with the first-team.