NATHAN BAXTER is going to extraordinary lengths to fulfill his dream of becoming a high-flier with Chelsea and England.
That includes shrugging off injury and paying his own air fares simply to bond with team-mates during one of SIX previous loans from the Premier League giants.
Keeper Baxter is about to embark on the seventh and most challenging yet – at Championship newcomers Hull City.
For someone who spends his working days stuck in a box 18 by 36 yards, dedicated Baxter has travelled further than most players of the same age.
From non-League to Scottish Premier League, ambitious Baxter will let nothing get in the way of his ultimate goal of becoming Chelsea’s No1.
Not even when having just joined SPL side Ross County two seasons ago, he was sent back to London with a shoulder problem.
Baxter, 22, said: “I’d fly up most weeks, home and away. I would do physio at Chelsea Monday to Friday, then book a flight to Scotland and go up to watch the boys, because I wanted to feel like I was part of the team.
“The manager wanted me to stay in the hotel the night before the game with the boys and they really kept me involved.
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“Even though I was back at Chelsea doing rehab I still felt like a Ross County player and that helped.
“As soon as I was fit I was back in the team then playing against Celtic live on Sky. Playing at Celtic and Rangers means there is nothing in terms of stadium or supporters that will faze me now.
“When I go on loan I become a player of that club. That resonates with the fans and they see someone on the pitch wearing their heart on their sleeve and giving their all for the shirt.
“I don’t see myself as a loan player this season. I see myself as a Hull player.”
The Tigers are back in the Championship after winning last season’s League One title.
Baxter is now just one step down the ladder from the Premier League having taken a bold decision five years ago to swap Chelsea blue for the boys in blue.
Hull is the latest stop on a journey which has taken in Accrington Stanley, Ross County, a record-breaking spell at Yeovil, Woking, Solihull Moors and the Isthmian League Met Police team when he was just 17.
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Baxter said: “Jordan Pickford went on loan and played in that division at a young age like me.
“Pickford, Dean Henderson, Nick Pope, Jack Butland, Joe Hart. They have all played lower and non-League.
“The path I am on is one every single England goalkeeper over the last few years has been on. I have confidence that I will one day be in those shoes.
“It was a surprise to people that a Chelsea player went to that division.
"But me and the club thought it was the best pathway for me.
“The Met Police’s average crowd was about 99. Quite often that would be swelled by staff members at Chelsea coming to watch me to tip it over 100.
BAXTER FACTFILE
Baxter’s clubs
Age: 22
Chelsea(2016-present)
Met Police (2016-17, loan)
Solihull Moors (2017, loan)
Woking (2017-18, loan)
Yeovil (2018-19, loan, pictured)
Ross County (2019-20, loan)
Accrington (2020-21, loan)
Hull City (2021, loan)
“My first game for them was an FA Cup fourth round qualifier game against a ninth-tier team – Hounslow. Hilario, the first team keeper coach at Chelsea at the time, came to watch me.
“I didn’t feel like I was being cast aside because someone of importance was coming to watch me and it showed the club cared about me.
“Hull is the natural progression for me. Since I have been on loan I have stepped up a division each year and challenged myself.
“Every year I have gone on loan and found the transition into a new league easy. It is up to me to show I deserve to be in the Championship this year.
“All the experiences haven’t just made me the player I am today but the person I am. Going on loan makes you grow up very quickly.
“I am proud of playing at those levels at that age because it’s not easy in League Two as a 19-year-old.
“I was so young when I reached 100, 150 games. I want to keep progressing and hoping there are more levels to climb on the next part of their journey.
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“One day I will be good enough and will be picked and will become Chelsea’s No1.
“The reason I have kept progressing is because I focus on that individual opportunity and I know if I don’t do the business for Hull I won’t get that opportunity.
“I believe I am ready to play for Chelsea now. I have thought that for a long time. You have to believe in yourself. But I have to make sure I have a good season with Hull first.”
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