Matt Baker (footballer, born 2003)

For other people named Matthew Baker, see Matthew Baker (disambiguation).

Matt Baker

Personal information
Full name	Matthew Baker [1]
Date of birth	(2003-02-06) 6 February 2003 (age 21)
Place of birth	Kent, England
Position(s)	Defender
Team information
Current team	Stoke City
Youth career
2011–2021	Gillingham
2021–2022	Stoke City
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2022–	Stoke City	0	(0)
2023	→ Newport County (loan)	18	(0)
2023–2024	→ Newport County (loan)	32	(0)
International career‡
	Wales U17
	Wales U19
2023–	Wales U21	5	(0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 19:54, 27 April 2024 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 18:10, 22 March 2024 (UTC)

Matthew Baker (born 6 February 2003) is a professional footballer who plays as a defender for EFL Championship club Stoke City ^[2] and the Wales under-21 national team.

Club career

Baker progressed through the Gillingham youth system and signed for Stoke City in June 2021. ^{[3] [4]} He moved on loan to Newport County in January 2023 for the remainder of the 2022–23 season. ^{[5] [6] [7] [8]} He made his Football League debut for Newport on 14 February 2023 in the League Two 2–2 draw against Stevenage. ^[9] Baker made 18 appearances for Newport helping them finish in 15th position. ^[10] In September 2023 Baker rejoined Newport County on loan for the remainder of the 2023–24 season. ^[11]

International career

Baker is from Kent and qualifies for Wales through his mother who was born in Narberth, Pembrokeshire. ^[12] He is a Wales youth international and captained them at under-19 level. ^[13] On 26 March 2023 Baker made his Wales under-21 debut in the starting line-up for the 3–0 friendly match win against Scotland under-21 in Spain. ^[14]

Career statistics

As of match played 27 April 2024

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			FA Cup		League Cup		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Stoke City	2022–23 [10]	Championship	0	0	0	0	0	0	—		0	0
	2023–24 [15]	Championship	0	0	0	0	0	0	—		0	0
	Total		0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Newport County (loan)	2022–23 [10]	League Two	18	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	18	0
Newport County (loan)	2023–24 [15]	League Two	32	0	5	0	0	0	2 [lower-alpha 1]	0	39	0
Career total			50	0	5	0	0	0	2	0	57	0

1. Appearances in the EFL Trophy.

References

1. "EFL Squad List: Season 2021/22" (PDF). EFL. Retrieved 14 February 2023.
2. Matt Baker at Soccerway
3. Smith, Peter (28 June 2021). "Stoke City complete double swoop for Roney and Baker". StokeonTrentLive.
4. "Stoke City sign Gillingham defender and Northern Ireland youth international". Stoke Sentinel. Retrieved 14 February 2023.
5. "Newport sign Stoke defender Baker on loan" – via www.bbc.co.uk.
6. "Stoke City defender Matt Baker moves on loan to Newport County". South Wales Argus.
7. "CONFIRMED: County make Wales prospect with a mean streak their second signing". uk.sports.yahoo.com.
8. "Matt Baker arrives on loan!". Newport County. Retrieved 14 February 2023.
9. "Newport County 2–2 Stevenage as a second-half substitute". BBC Sport. Retrieved 14 February 2023.
10. "Games played by Matt Baker in 2022/2023". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 21 February 2023.
11. "Newport seal Thomas and Baker loan deals" – via www.bbc.co.uk.
12. "Bright prospect Baker needed a County reality check – Wales U21s boss". South Wales Argus.
13. "County linked with loan move for Stoke's promising Wales U21s defender". South Wales Argus.
14. "Wales Football – dragonsoccer – Welsh International Football". dragonsoccer.co.uk.
15. "Games played by Matt Baker in 2023/2024". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 21 October 2023.