Progress Report on Chelsea Youngster Lewis Baker

The subject of Chelsea and the rising talent the club has in the academy refuses to go away. Now Lewis Baker has just added to it. 

The midfielder was in sensational form during the recent Toulon Tournament with the England under-21s, scoring four goals en route to Gareth Southgate's side finishing up as champions.

Baker has been on loan with Vitesse Arnhem in the Netherlands for the past year and his form recently in France suggests he is beginning to mature into a player worthy of featuring in Antonio Conte's new-look Chelsea team next season.

The manager has it all to do when he takes over post-Euro 2016. Conte is inheriting a club that remains in a state of flux and the feeling is that his appointment is one of the most important in the club's recent history.

The decisions Conte makes this summer will impact the club's immediate future and that in itself will play a big part in where Chelsea position themselves in the next five years. Will the Blues be a dominant side in European football? Or will they join Manchester United by yo-yoing in and out of the Champions League and Europa League? Worse still, will they be a club playing European football at all?

Conte needs to invest money in his squad, but, equally, the need to nurture the homegrown talent Chelsea have is vital.

What Baker's Toulon form has hinted at is that he isn't just a name for academy enthusiasts to be quoting anymore. There is much more substance to him than that.

To break into Chelsea's first team, young stars have to justify their position alongside some world-class names. Potential isn't enough; these players have to demonstrate they can make the step up. That comes with performing at every opportunity, whether it be on loan, back at Chelsea or away with their country.

Baker is coming off the back of an encouraging year with Vitesse where he scored five goals from midfield. It is far from Frank Lampard levels, but it was more about the role he played in the Vitesse side that impressed most.

He was one of the team's biggest performers and was influencing games, which he has now transferred to the international stage with England when they headed to France.

Even more encouragingly, it was his partnership with Ruben Loftus-Cheek in midfield that proved one of England's strongest assets throughout the past few weeks.

"We have a good partnership in there, we’ve played together for so long that I know where he is on the pitch without looking," Loftus-Cheek told TheFA.com on the back of England's emphatic 4-0 defeat of Paraguay.

Not only did Baker open the scoring in that game, Loftus-Cheek bagged a brace himself to leave a mark of Chelsea's influence on Southgate's young side.

Loftus-Cheek's comments also hint at something more valid—that it's Conte who can benefit most from the international calendar this summer. It's usually the other way around, where national teams are the beneficiaries of what players are achieving at club level; yet now Conte has seen how lethal Baker can be. And he's been doing it with a club-mate in tow.

It should be said with a heavy slice of cheddar on the side, but Chelsea have been the biggest winners from Toulon.

Loftus-Cheek's glowing expression after that Paraguay victory said plenty for the confidence that must be oozing through him right now. He is gradually becoming more established at Chelsea and with some successful loan moves in the past couple of seasons, Baker should be feeling the same.

He is the sort of player Chelsea have needed for a long while. Baker can operate in the attacking third of the 4-2-3-1 that has been the system of choice for the past few years at Stamford Bridge. With Conte expected to shake things up and move on from that, Baker has the capabilities to adjust to a five or three-man midfield.

The midfielder demonstrated those qualities with Vitesse and now England. For proof, witness the goal he scored in the Toulon final versus France, with his late run from midfield to fool the defence and put England in control.

Harry Trump/Getty Images

With Loftus-Cheek alongside him, the pair have been the big story to come out of the Toulon Tournament ahead of the European Championships, which start in just over a week.

When any youngster is knocking on the door at a club of Chelsea's size and stature, they need to be doing it with both fists and a whole lot more to make a loud enough noise. We've seen Marcus Rashford do it after his debut for Manchester United in the Europa League and now he is in Roy Hodgson's England squad.

What next for Baker? Toulon may only be a junior tournament, but he has put down a significant marker that Conte surely can't ignore.

Garry Hayes is Bleacher Report's lead Chelsea correspondent. All quotes were obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted. Follow him on Twitter @garryhayes