Sunderland are the latest club who are reportedly interested in signing Barnsley winger Luke Thomas – a move that makes perfect sense for the Black Cats.
The story was reported by Gloucester Live yesterday, as the club look for fresh impetus to reignite a somewhat stagnated push for promotion to the Championship – the side sit ninth in League One, two points off the play-off places.
Thomas started his career out at Cheltenham Town and had a loan spell at Gloucester in the National League North, ahead of move to Derby County.
A further loan move to Coventry City followed, before he subsequently joined Barnsley on a permanent basis in July 2019.
Thomas has made 58 appearances for the Tykes to date, scoring 2 goals – the first was on his debut in a 1-0 victory over Fulham back in August 2019, and the second came in a 3-1 FA Cup third round win over Crewe Alexandra.
The 21-year-old has made 14 appearances in all competitions so far this season for the Tykes and it has been reported that a number of League One clubs are keeping tabs on his progress.
For someone still at the early stages of his career, Thomas would add plenty of experience to Lee Johnson’s squad, having already registered 98 appearances across the Championship and League One to date.
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He would also bolster Johnson’s options in the wide positions and proved his versatility so far this season, featuring on both flanks, in central midfield and in the number 10 role.
An argument for making a move for Thomas is strengthened due to the fact that Aiden McGeady’s and Chris Maguire’s contracts both expire in May.
The former appears to have fallen out of favour at the Stadium of Light in recent months, after spending the first half of the year on loan at Charlton Athletic, and has only made three appearances in all competitions for Sunderland this campaign.
With that in mind, a move for Thomas makes sense.
