Nathan Baker

Nathan Luke Baker (born 23 April 1991) is an English professional footballer who plays for Aston Villa as a central defender or left back.

Early career
Baker signed for Aston Villa as a 13-year-old in 2004, and rose through the ranks at the club, making his Academy debut in 2007. He was a pivotal figure in the centre of defence alongside Ciaran Clark in the 2007–08 season, as Villa clinched the national title, defeating Manchester City in the final. Baker finished the season with 1 goal from 23 appearances for the Academy team, and 2 goals from 7 appearances for the Reserves, who also tasted success by clinching the Premier Reserve League South.

The defender progressed to the first-team in the summer of 2008 by making the squad for the tour of Switzerland, of which Baker played in both matches against FC Wil and FC Zürich. In July 2008, Baker was named on the bench for the second leg of the UEFA Intertoto Cup tie against Odense Boldklub. A week later he was again named on the bench, this time for the trip to Icelandic side Fimleikafélag Hafnarfjarðar in the Second qualifying round of the UEFA Cup.

On 23 October 2009, Baker signed for Lincoln City on a month-long loan deal alongside fellow defender Eric Lichaj. Lincoln City manager and former Aston Villa striker Chris Sutton handed Baker his league debut at Sincil Bank on 24 October 2009, in a 0–0 draw with Torquay United. Baker impressed at Lincoln, and his loan deal was eventually extended to the end of the 2009–10 season.

Baker was banned from attending Aston Villa's League Cup final against Manchester United at Wembley Stadium on 28 February 2010 after being caught trying to sell his allocation of tickets via the social networking website Facebook. The 18-year-old defender attempted to sell five tickets at a price of £200 each, but later said that he regretted his actions.

2010–11 season
Baker was brought in to the Aston Villa squad for the derby match against Birmingham City on 16 January 2011. He was an unused substitute as Villa drew 1–1. Baker made his starting debut against Wigan Athletic on 25 January 2011 at DW Stadium. On 29 January 2011, his second ever start, Baker gained an assist for the third goal but was then sent off for a dangerous tackle in an FA Cup Fourth Round tie against Blackburn Rovers. On 26 February, Baker made his second league start for Villa against Blackburn Rovers, but went off injured in the first half after a collision with goal keeper Paul Robinson. Villa announced on 2 June 2011 that Baker had signed a new three-year contract with the club.

2011–12 season
On 22 November he joined Millwall on a one month loan deal. He was assigned the squad number 27 and made his debut four days later, helping Millwall keep a clean sheet against Crystal Palace. He made six league appearances before his loan spell ended in December with a 1–0 win against Portsmouth on 26 December being his last game. He returned to Villa and made his first appearance of the season coming on as a late sub for Richard Dunne against Manchester City on 12 February.

2012–13 season
During the 2012–13 season, Baker established himself as a centre back with great aerial ability. Due to an injury to Ron Vlaar, Baker was partnered with fellow Academy Graduate Ciaran Clark and impressed during a difficult spell where Villa conceded lots of goals. On occasion he also played at left back in the absence of Joe Bennett. On 9 March, Baker scored a horrendous own goal, swinging his right foot at the ball, missing it completely and it ricocheted in off his standing left foot. However after the game, Baker was praised for putting this behind him and having another outstanding game, before being replaced by Bennett in the 80th minute. In May 2013 Baker signed a new three-year deal with Aston Villa which would keep him there until 2016.

International career
Baker has represented England at under-19, under-20 and under-21 level. He made his debut for the under-19 side on 18 November 2008 as they beat Germany 1–0. He made 9 appearances for the under-19's and was part of the England squad at the 2011 under-20 World Cup, playing in all of England's games at the tournament. He made his debut for the under-21 squad in 2011 against Iceland in Preston. His other two caps came in wins against Israel and Norway during 2013 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship qualification.