CHELSEA’S Lewis Baker has agreed to join Turkish side Trabzonspor on loan with an option to buy.
Goal reports the 25-year-old is in Istanbul and will fly to Trabzon ahead of a medical after both sides agreed a season-long deal.
Lewis Baker is set to move to Turkey on loan after spending pre-season with ChelseaCredit: Getty Images – Getty
Trabzonspor’s boss is former Chelsea player and coach Eddie Newton who knows Baker from his time with the Academy.
Newton was in charge of looking after and keeping up with players who had been sent out on loan.
Baker is set for his EIGHTH temporary move away from Stamford Bridge, having only made one competitive senior appearance for the club.
The midfielder spent last season on loan at Fortuna Dusseldorf but his time in Germany was cut short in January after a falling out with the club’s boss.
He has also spent time with Sheffield Wednesday, MK Dons, Middlesbrough, Leeds and Reading.
But his most successful loan spell came between 2015-17 when he spent two years with Belgian side Vitesse, bagging 20 goals and 11 assists in 73 appearances.
Academy product Baker was a wonderkid with big expectations after winning the Toulon Tournament in 2016 and the Dutch Cup a year later but has struggled of late.
Newton requested Baker make the move abroad for the third time in his short career.
The 48-year-old was made permanent manager of the Turkish club in August.
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He won the Turkish Cup as interim boss in July after joining as an assistant last winter having very briefly been part of Frank Lampard’s backroom team.
England Under-21 international Baker is not the only player Newton has poached from home.
SunSport confirmed that former Gunner Benik Afobe is also joining Trabzonspor from Stoke for the season.
Aaron Lennon is another player beginning a spell in Turkey after completing a free transfer to Kayserispor having been released from Burnley.
And he could be joined by Huddersfield ace Fraizer Campbell as SunSport exclusively revealed Kayserispor want to bring him over from The Terriers.
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Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
