28 Facts About Nathan Baker

Nathan Luke Baker was born on 23 April 1991 and is an English former professional footballer who played as a central defender.

Nathan Baker has represented England at U19, U20, and U21 levels.

Nathan 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.

Nathan Baker finished the season with one goal from 23 appearances for the Academy team, and two goals from seven appearances for the Reserves, who 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 Nathan Baker played in both matches against FC Wil and FC Zurich.

In July 2008, Nathan Baker was named on the bench for the second leg of the UEFA Intertoto Cup tie against Odense Boldklub.

On 23 October 2009, Nathan Baker signed for Lincoln City on a month-long loan deal, alongside fellow defender Eric Lichaj.

Nathan Baker impressed at Lincoln, and his loan deal was eventually extended to the end of the season.

Nathan 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.

Nathan Baker was brought in to the Aston Villa squad for the derby match against Birmingham City on 16 January 2011.

Villa announced on 2 June 2011 that Nathan Baker had signed a new three-year contract with the club.

Nathan Baker was assigned the squad number 27 and made his debut four days later, helping Millwall keep a clean sheet against Crystal Palace.

In May 2013 Nathan Baker signed a new three-year deal with Aston Villa which would keep him there until 2016.

Nathan Baker made his first appearance against Arsenal but was substituted in the 17th minute due to injury.

Nathan Baker missed the next games against Chelsea, Liverpool and Newcastle before making his return to the squad as an unused substitute against Norwich.

Nathan Baker made his first appearance of the season as an 82nd minute substitution for Aly Cissokho.

Nathan Baker was set to start against Arsenal like many of his teammates suffered from an illness and was left out of the squad.

Nathan Baker went on to start against Chelsea, Manchester City and Everton.

Nathan Baker wasn't included in the squad against Queens Park Rangers, before starting against Spurs.

On 31 July 2015, Nathan Baker ended transfer speculation when he signed a new four-year contract with the club.

On 1 September 2015, Nathan Baker joined Bristol City on a season-long loan.

Under Roberto Di Matteo, Nathan Baker often found himself behind the club's new arrivals Tommy Elphick and James Chester, being used as a substitute.

On 28 July 2017, Nathan Baker joined Bristol City for an undisclosed fee on a four-year deal.

On 14 May 2021, Nathan Baker was originally named on the released list but he signed a new two-year deal with the club in June 2021.

Nathan Baker announced his retirement from professional football on 29 August 2022 as a result of the head injury sustained nine months prior.

Nathan Baker has represented England at under-19, under-20 and under-21 level.

Nathan Baker 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.

Nathan Baker made his debut for the under-21 squad in 2011 against Iceland in Preston.