Stoke City: Steven Schumacher will surely be open to offloading midfielder - View | OneFootball

Lewis Baker has been one of Stoke City's most influential players since his arrival from Chelsea in January 2022.

He made just two first-team appearances in eight years at his boyhood club, amid eight loan spells, most notably with Vitesse, Reading and Trabzonspor.

He finally made a permanent move away from West London at 26 in 2022 - joining Stoke on a two-and-a-half year contract under then-boss Michael O'Neill.

Baker has since played 90 games for the club, scoring 19 goals from central midfield and consistently displaying his qualities, while Stoke have struggled to move up the table under three different managers since his arrival.

His influence has waned this season though, particularly since Steven Schumacher's appointment, with other midfielders preferred in this season's run-in that eventually saw the Potters stave off relegation in the Championship.

With one year left on his contract as he approaches 30-years-old, Schumacher could look to move him on in favour of bringing in a midfielder that he wants to use, as well as being able to sell him for some money before he is available for free next summer.

Baker has enjoyed his time at Stoke

Baker had not had a permanent club that appreciated his talents before he joined Stoke, after being stuck in the Chelsea loan-cycle for years and never being able to settle with one team.

He scored a stunning strike on his full debut for the Potters in a 3-2 defeat to Fulham, as he slotted straight into O'Neill's midfield alongside Joe Allen and Sam Clucas.

O'Neill kept him in his side as he played the full 90 minutes in 18 of the last 20 league games of the season, and repaid his faith by netting seven more goals and notching two assists.

It was a superb start to life in the Potteries for Baker, and he was named club captain by O'Neill ahead of the 2022/23 campaign just weeks after signing a new three-year contract that removed a £1.5 million buy-out clause.

The season did not go as planned for the Potters though, as O'Neill was sacked and replaced by Alex Neil in August, and the club finished 16th in the Championship, with Baker making 48 appearances and scoring eight goals in all competitions.

Baker played all but 46 minutes of the club's first 28 league games that season, but started just two of the final 18 as he fell out of favour under Neil and struggled to usurp an in-form midfield trio of Ben Pearson, Josh Laurent and Will Smallbone.

Baker underwent surgery last summer to rectify a persistent knee issue, and was relieved of his captaincy duties by Neil in favour of Laurent, as he missed the first four months of the 2023/24 season.

Neil had been sacked by the time Baker was properly back in the fold in December, with Steven Schumacher the new man at the helm as he made his first start for the club in eight months on New Year's Day against Ipswich Town.

The 29-year-old soon returned to the score-sheet with a brilliant free-kick in his next start against Rotherham United, and looked to have won himself a place in Schumacher's midfield until the end of the season, but was dropped again after poor performances against Norwich and Huddersfield.

He started just one of the final six games of the season as the Potters pulled themselves away from the relegation zone, and did not figure in the squad for a final-day drubbing of Bristol City - with 16-year-old midfielder Sol Sidibe seemingly picked in his place.

Baker has been a key player for City in years gone by, but could be coming to a crossroads in his career with other players possibly ahead of him in the pecking order next season.

Baker was linked away in January

Baker was previously rumoured to be available for transfer earlier this year, which will only fuel the fire with rumours that he could exit this summer.

TEAMtalk sources revealed in January that Stoke were open to offers for the 29-year-old, and that he could 'leave the club in the coming weeks' as Schumacher targeted new signings.

He did not leave at that point, but was underused by the former-Plymouth boss in the second-half of the season and failed to nail down a starting spot.

Stoke will know that he would certainly not be short of suitors if made available this summer, with his dead-ball technique, long-range striking and ability to dictate games, all favourable attributes for any Championship teams that are after a central midfielder in his peak years.

His contract is up in 2025, so this transfer window likely represents the last chance for Stoke to fetch a transfer fee for his sale - all of which would represent profit after he arrived on a free transfer from Chelsea, and would allow the Potters to spend more money on a younger player that fits Schumacher's system and is just, simply, more in favour,

Baker, though, will be fondly remembered by Stoke fans if he is to depart, after scoring some crucial goals at times when the club most needed someone to step up and take charge of games. It is, ultimately, a circumstance where the managerial merry-go-round at the club has left him entering the transfer window without a manager with ultimate faith in him - more the club's own doing than the player's.