Nathan Joseph Baxter (born 8 November 1998) is an English professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Leyton Orient.
Club career Chelsea
Born in Westminster, Baxter began his career with Cray Wanderers. He then joined Chelsea at the age of 8. In the 2015–16 season he won the FA Youth Cup and the UEFA Youth League.
In August 2016 he moved on loan to Isthmian League side Metropolitan Police on a short-term deal until January 2017. He spent four months at the club, making 19 appearances, before returning to Chelsea in January 2017.
He then joined National League side Solihull Moors on loan for the remainder of the 2016–17 campaign. On 21 January 2017, he made his Solihull debut, keeping a clean sheet during their 0–0 draw with Boreham Wood. He made three clean sheets in his first four games for the club. Baxter went on to make 17 appearances in total for the club.
On 21 June 2017, Baxter joined fellow National League side Woking on a season-long loan. On the opening day of the campaign, Baxter went on to make his Woking debut as they recorded a 2–1 home victory over Gateshead. Baxter went on to make 48 appearances in total for the club. During the 2017–18 season, Baxter played more minutes (4320) than any other Chelsea loanee.
On 26 June 2018, Baxter agreed to join League Two side Yeovil Town on a season-long loan. Baxter made his Football League debut in their opening day of the season, in a 1–0 away defeat against Bury. At Yeovil, he did not concede a goal for 10 hours 12 minutes, and set a club record after keeping 6 consecutive clean sheets in all competitions.
As of 5 November 2018, he was the "only teenage goalkeeper currently in English football's professional ranks to have racked up over 100 appearances in the senior game".
Baxter made 38 appearances for Yeovil during his season with the club, and won 5 awards at the club's end of season awards, all in the 'Player of the Season' and 'Young Player of the Season' categories.
On 19 June 2019, Baxter joined Scottish Premiership side Ross County on a season long loan. He suffered a shoulder injury early in the season before returning to first-team action, and went on to play in 14 games in a row.
On 9 October 2020, Baxter joined Accrington Stanley on loan.
On 25 June 2021, he moved on loan to Hull City for the season. Baxter made his league debut on 6 November 2021, in a 2–0 victory over Barnsley at Oakwell and was later selected in the Championship's team of the week following an impressing showing on his first league start. He went on to make 18 appearances for the club, including 7 clean sheets in his 16 league matches and having the highest save percentage in the Championship at 79.5 percent.
On 4 July 2022, Baxter returned to Hull City for a second season-long loan spell.
Bolton Wanderers On 16 June 2023, Chelsea announced that Baxter would leave the club when his contract expired at the end of June. On 19 June 2023, Bolton Wanderers announced the signing of Baxter on a two-year contract from 1 July, being his first permanent move after seven years of loan spells. It was reported that he turned down a move to Maccabi Haifa, preferring to sign for Bolton. On 7 May 2025, the club confirmed that Baxter would leave at the end of his contract.
Watford On 2 June 2025, Baxter agreed to join Championship side Watford on a two-year contract upon the expiration of his contract with Bolton Wanderers.
Leyton Orient In July 2026 he signed for Leyton Orient.
Personal life Baxter was born in London to parents of Jewish descent and has stated that Petr Čech was his inspiration. In December 2025, Baxter spoke about his Jewish identity publicly for the first time, when he was a guest speaker at one of the longest-running Hanukkah events in English football, hosted by Watford FC and the Jewish Hornets supporters' group.
Career statistics
+ Appearances and goals by club, season and competitionClubSeasonLeagueNational CupLeague CupOtherTotalDivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsChelsea2016–17Premier League00000000002017–18Premier League00000000002018–19Premier League00000000002019–20Premier League00000000002020–21Premier League00000000002021–22Premier League00000000002022–23Premier League0000000000Total0000000000Metropolitan Police (loan)2016–17Isthmian League14020—30190Solihull Moors (loan)2016–17National League170———170Woking (loan)2017–18National League42060—00480Yeovil Town (loan)2018–19League Two340101020380Ross County (loan)2019–20Scottish Premiership1301000—140Accrington Stanley (loan)2020–21League One160100020190Hull City (loan)2021–22Championship160101000180Hull City (loan)2022–23Championship120000000120Bolton Wanderers2023–24League One3304010504302024–25League One260000030290Total590401080720Watford2025–26Championship7010000080Leyton Orient2026–27League One6000100070Career total2360170401502720
Honours Chelsea Youth FA Youth Cup: 2015–16 UEFA Youth League: 2015–16
Individual Yeovil Town Player of the Season: 2018–19 Yeovil Town Young Player of the Season: 2018–19
References
External links
Profile at the Bolton Wanderers F.C. website