Current Stoke City player had major timing problem at Leeds United under Marcelo Bielsa: View | OneFootball

Marcelo Bielsa's time at Leeds United was the best period in the club's modern history, but a few of his signings certainly didn't work out at Elland Road.

Among those, was Lewis Baker, who came in as his first signing of the window on a loan deal from Chelsea. However, his place in the midfield pecking order was much further down than he would have hoped for that year.

Under Bielsa's stewardship, Leeds played fast-paced, attack-minded football and attracted praise from all over the world. His era brought a return to the top-flight for the first time in 16 years, but also life back to the City of Leeds, too. However, a poor start to the following season led to his sacking in February 2022.

Bielsa managed Leeds from 2018 to 2022 and led them to a top half finish as well as their promotion. Leeds finished third (Championship), first (Championship), and ninth (Premier League) across his three full seasons with the club.

In his final season, as a Premier League club, he was sacked after a run of poor results which left the Whites in 16th in the table, but he will be remembered in Leeds forever, having written himself into club folkore and the Elland Road history books.

Baker, on the other hand, had a spell to forget with the Whites.

The 28-year-old played 14 games on loan from Chelsea during the first half of that season and was one of the worst signings made that summer, albeit not all of that was Baker's fault.

Plenty of excitement surrounded the signing, in part due to his reputation as a young player, but also for his repertoire of free-kicks and finishes for the England U-21 side and with Vitesse Arnhem on loan as well.

In those 14 appearances, he made just five starts, and only two in the league. His one and only assist came for the club in a cup tie against Bolton Wanderers. It was therefore no surprise to see Baker recalled from Leeds and sent on loan to Reading until the end of the 2018/19 season.

He featured more regularly with the Royals, making 19 appearances, scoring once against Hull City. Meanwhile, Leeds fell away in the race for automatic promotion over the Easter period and then crashed out of the play-offs in May.

His influence on the side in the opening games was minimal, in part due to the interplay and dynamic between the likes of Samu Saiz, Mateusz Klich, and Pablo Hernandez in central and attacking midfield areas, with Kalvin Phillips becoming the lynch-pin of Bielsa's side as the single pivot at the base of the midfield.

The midfield depth was particularly apparent for Leeds that year, with the likes of Adam Forshaw, Jamie Shackleton, Stuart Dallas, and Izzy Brown also in reserve for Leeds for much of that campaign, and Baker struggled to make an impact in cameo substitute appearances, leading to his early departure.

Baker's career post-Leeds

Despite being particularly underwhelming and appearing to be out of his depth for Leeds, Baker has had a good career following that failed loan spell. Now one of the main leadership figures of Stoke City, Baker was impressive last term for the Potters, often as captain, despite a poor season overall for the club. He was one of Alex Neil's most consistent performers during the previous campaign.

After various loan spells away from Chelsea after Leeds to the likes of Reading, Fortuna Dusseldorf, and Trabzonspor - it appears Baker has found a permanent home. He has appeared 85 times for Stoke since joining in January 2022, scoring 19 goals, including some stunning trademark free-kicks, and notching up a further seven assists in the process.

Some players fit in and adapt far better in another team, environment, and tactical set-up; and it appears far more of those boxes are ticked for Baker at Stoke than during a difficult period of his career in West Yorkshire.

He could have been a success with Leeds, but there were far too many players impressing Bielsa who were in his way in terms of the pecking order. Ultimately, the timing was all wrong for Baker and Leeds.