Hull City: Nathan Baxter’s future in safe hands thanks to Chelsea’s Carlo Cudicini

Cudicini excelled during his time in goal for the Blues and is now helping the club’s young players out on loan successfully carve out their own niche and forge a successful career path, including the Hull City loanee.

The 23-year-old admits that he owes his own particular debt of gratitude to the Italian, who was appointed loan player technical coach back in 2019, with a remit to add the development of a host of Blues players who have headed out on loan.

On heading back to Hull for a second season-long loan, Baxter said: “Chelsea were brilliant with steering you to who they think is best and they were very much on board with it.

“I’d like to publicly thank Carlo as well. He has been excellent with me and he was brilliant with sorting this out. We had a very quick chat about it really as we were both on the same page and we thought it was a good move for my career and the clubs then had to do their business.”

Baxter insists there was never any doubt about him returning for a second spell with a view to earning a long-term deal at the club.

City, whose star asset Keane Lewis-Potter continues to be strongly linked with a move to Premier League outfit Brentford, have an option to buy Baxter – who has spent loans at seven previous clubs – at the end of the 2022-23 campaign.

He will compete for No 1 duties with Matt Ingram.

Baxter added: “I pretty much knew from the last game of the season that I would be coming back.

“Over the summer, I had a few calls with my agent and Chelsea and every time, all I said was: ‘I don’t want to listen to anything, apart from going back to Hull.’

“My mind was set before the last game of the season. I had already made my mind up then and I was not interested in anything else really.

“When I have been on a lot of loans, every summer it has been moving to a new city and a new team. And it was really nice to have a summer knowing where I was coming back to, knowing I was comfortable with the house I was living in and the area.”