Luke Thomas (footballer, born 1999)

For the English footballer who was born in 2001 and plays for Leicester City, see Luke Thomas (footballer, born 2001). For other people, see Luke Thomas (disambiguation).

Luke Thomas

Personal information
Full name	Luke Gerald Michael Thomas [1]
Date of birth	(1999-02-19) 19 February 1999 (age 25) [2]
Place of birth	Soudley, England
Height	1.71 m (5 ft 7 in) [3]
Position(s)	Midfielder, forward
Team information
Current team	Bristol Rovers
Number	11
Youth career
	West Bromwich Albion
0000–2015	Cheltenham Town
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2015–2016	Cheltenham Town	0	(0)
2016–2019	Derby County	2	(0)
2017	→ Gloucester City (loan)	15	(1)
2018–2019	→ Coventry City (loan)	43	(4)
2019–2023	Barnsley	86	(3)
2021	→ Ipswich Town (loan)	5	(0)
2021–2022	→ Bristol Rovers (loan)	28	(0)
2023–	Bristol Rovers	37	(5)
International career‡
2019–2020	England U20	3	(0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 13:29, 28 April 2024 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 21:32, 9 September 2019 (UTC)

Luke Gerald Michael Thomas (born 19 February 1999) is an English professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder for EFL League One club Bristol Rovers

Thomas began his career with Cheltenham Town, before later playing for Derby County and Barnsley. He has also featured on loan for Gloucester City, Coventry City and Ipswich Town.

Club career

Thomas began his career with National League club Cheltenham Town, making his only first team appearance against Chelmsford City in the FA Trophy. ^[4] He had a trial with Portuguese club Benfica in 2015. He joined Derby County in January 2016 for an undisclosed transfer fee, signing a two-and-a-half-year professional contract. ^[5] He had a loan spell with National League North club Gloucester City during the 2016–17 season. ^[6]

Thomas was nominated for the Premier League 2 Player of the Month award in September 2017 as a result of his performances for Derby County's under-23 team. ^[7] He signed a new three-year contract with Derby in October 2017. ^[8] He was first named in a first team matchday squad on 31 October 2017 against Leeds United, ^[9] and made his league debut on 21 November 2017, coming on as an 89th-minute substitute for Tom Lawrence in a 2–0 win over Queens Park Rangers. ^[10]

Thomas signed a new four-year contract with Derby in August 2018. ^[11] Later that month, he joined League One Coventry City on a half-season loan until the start of 2019. ^[12] In January 2019, the loan was extended for the rest of the season. ^[13]

Barnsley

In June 2019, he joined Barnsley for an undisclosed fee. ^[14] On his debut he scored the winning goal for Barnsley in a 1–0 win against Fulham. ^[15]

In January 2021, Thomas joined Ipswich Town on loan for the remainder of the season. ^[16] On 8 April 2021, Thomas announced on social media that he had cut his loan move with Ipswich short for personal reasons and he returned to Barnsley. ^[17]

Bristol Rovers (loan)

On 10 July 2021, Thomas joined League Two side Bristol Rovers on a season-long loan deal. ^[18] On 13 October, he scored his first goal for the club when he opened the scoring in a 2–1 EFL Trophy defeat to Chelsea U21s. ^[19] On 23 November 2021, Thomas came off the bench in a 1–1 draw against nine-men Salford City, missing a great chance to put Rovers two ahead before the home side eventually equalised. ^[20] After the match, Thomas' manager Joey Barton criticised Thomas claiming that he "thinks the world owes him a favour" and that "if he doesn't get his finger out, this opportunity at Rovers is going to pass him by". ^[21] Barton continued with his criticism of Thomas the following day, claiming that the club had tried to terminate his loan in the summer, the same window in which Thomas had been signed after the player had stormed out of training a number of times in frustration. ^[22] In January 2022, Thomas admitted that he deserved the criticism and had let people down. ^[23] The season ended with Rovers getting promoted on the final day of the season, moving into the automatic promotion spots on goals scored. ^[24]

Return to Barnsley

After speculation surrounding Thomas and a permanent return to Bristol Rovers, ^[25] he found himself in the first team picture under new manager Michael Duff and scored the only goal in the second match of the season as Duff was given his first win in charge over Thomas' former club Cheltenham Town. ^[26] On 8 October 2022, it was confirmed that Thomas had suffered a broken leg in training that would see the winger out of action for at least four months. ^[27] Following defeat in the play-off final, he was offered a new contract at the end of the 2022–23 season. ^[28]

Bristol Rovers

On 24 June 2023, Thomas' return to Bristol Rovers was confirmed, signing a three-year deal. ^[29] He scored his first league goal for the club on his second debut, an opening day draw with Portsmouth. ^[30] On 30 September 2023, Thomas suffered a tight hamstring during half-time of a 2–0 defeat to Peterborough United, failing to tell the club's medical staff until the end of the half-time break, with the opposition going on to score early in to the second period. Following the match, manager Joey Barton launched an angry tirade toward the player, blaming him for the second goal and criticising his character, demanding that the player should be fined by the club and threatening his future at the club. ^[31] It was later revealed that he would miss a number of weeks with a hamstring injury. ^[32] Following the appointment of new manager Matt Taylor in December 2023, Thomas saw himself switched to a more unfamiliar right wing-back position. He impressed from this new role, considered as one of his side's best players over the busy Christmas period, notably scoring a last-minute winner against leaders Portsmouth on Boxing Day. ^{[33] [34]}

During his second season back at the club permanently, Thomas once again found himself out of favour with manager Matt Taylor, struggling for minutes ahead of summer signing Shaq Forde. ^[35]

International career

Thomas made his youth international debut on 6 September 2019 with England U20, coming on as an 80th minute substitute for Luke Bolton in a 0–0 draw against Netherlands U20 at New Meadow. ^[36]

Career statistics

As of end of 2023–24 season

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			FA Cup		League Cup		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Cheltenham Town	2015–16 [37]	National League	0	0	0	0	—		2 [a]	0	2	0
Derby County	2015–16 [38]	Championship	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
	2016–17 [39]	Championship	0	0	0	0	0	0	—		0	0
	2017–18 [40]	Championship	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	0
	2018–19 [41]	Championship	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
	Total		2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	0
Gloucester City (loan)	2016–17	National League North	15	1	0	0	—		0	0	15	1
Coventry City (loan)	2018–19 [41]	League One	43	4	1	1	0	0	0	0	44	5
Barnsley	2019–20 [42]	Championship	39	1	2	1	1	0	—		42	2
	2020–21 [43]	Championship	19	0	1	0	2	0	—		22	0
	2021–22 [44]	Championship	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
	2022–23 [45]	League One	27	2	0	0	2	0	2 [b]	0	31	2
	Total		84	3	3	1	5	0	2	0	94	4
Ipswich Town (loan)	2020–21 [43]	League One	5	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	5	0
Bristol Rovers (loan)	2021–22 [44]	League Two	28	0	2	0	1	0	1 [c]	1	32	1
Bristol Rovers	2023–24 [46]	League One	37	5	4	1	1	0	4 [c]	1	46	7
	Total		65	5	6	1	2	0	5	2	78	8
Career total			215	13	10	3	7	0	9	2	241	18

1. Appearances in FA Trophy
2. Appearance(s) in EFL League One play-offs
3. Appearance(s) in EFL Trophy

Honours

Bristol Rovers

• EFL League Two third-place promotion: 2021–22 ^[24]

References

1. "List of Players under Written Contract Registered Between 01/10/2017 and 31/10/2017" (PDF). The Football Association. p. 4. Retrieved 17 June 2018.
2. "Luke Thomas". 11v11.com. AFS Enterprises. Retrieved 12 February 2018.
3. "Luke Thomas". Derby County F.C. Archived from the original on 13 February 2018. Retrieved 17 December 2017.
4. Palmer, Jon (21 November 2017). "Cheltenham Town to net five figure sum as Luke Thomas makes debut". Gloucestershire Live. Retrieved 26 January 2018.
5. "Derby County: Rams sign Cheltenham teenager Thomas". BBC Sport. 20 January 2016. Retrieved 26 January 2018.
6. "Who is Derby County forward Luke Thomas?". Derby Telegraph. Retrieved 17 December 2017.
7. Watson, Chris (6 October 2017). "Derby County youngster nominated for Premier League Two award". Derby Telegraph. Retrieved 26 January 2018.
8. Wakefield, Mark (13 October 2017). "Derby County forward signs new three-year contract". Derby Telegraph. Retrieved 26 January 2018.
9. "Leeds United 1–2 Derby County". BBC Sport. Retrieved 17 December 2017.
10. "Derby County 2–0 Queens Park Rangers". BBC Sport. Retrieved 17 December 2017.
11. Watson, Chris (6 August 2018). "Derby County starlet signs new contract with Rams". Derbyshire Live. Retrieved 17 February 2019.
12. "Derby County: Coventry City sign winger Luke Thomas on half-season loan". BBC Sport. Retrieved 16 August 2017.
13. "Luke Thomas: Derby County winger to stay at Coventry City for rest of season". BBC Sport. 3 January 2019. Retrieved 17 February 2019.
14. "Thomas Makes Barnsley Switch". Derby County F.C. Retrieved 13 June 2019.
15. "Barnsley 1–0 Fulham". BBC. 3 August 2019. Retrieved 15 August 2019.
16. Wobschall, Leon (19 January 2021). "Barnsley FC winger Luke Thomas seals loan move to Ipswich Town". Yorkshire Post . Retrieved 19 January 2021.
17. "Luke Absent for Personal Reasons".
18. "Luke Thomas joins the Gas on Loan!". www.bristolrovers.co.uk. 10 July 2021.
19. "Match Report - Rovers 1–2 Chelsea U21s". www.bristolrovers.co.uk. 13 October 2021.
20. "Salford City 1–1 Bristol Rovers". BBC Sport. 23 November 2021. Retrieved 24 November 2021.
21. Frost, Sam (24 November 2021). "Bristol Rovers boss Joey Barton launches scathing criticism of ex-Derby County man Luke Thomas". Bristol Post.
22. Frost, Sam (25 November 2021). "Bristol Rovers boss Joey Barton doubles down on Luke Thomas criticism in astonishing detail". Bristol Post.
23. Frost, Sam (9 January 2022). "Luke Thomas: 'I let people down at Bristol Rovers and deserved rocket from Joey Barton'". Bristol Post. Retrieved 13 January 2022.
24. "Bristol Rovers go up after extraordinary 7–0 win". BBC Sport. 7 May 2022. Retrieved 9 May 2022.
25. Palmer, Jon; Frost, Sam (14 July 2022). "Bristol Rovers pushing for permanent deal for Barnsley winger Luke Thomas". Bristol Post. Retrieved 9 October 2022.
26. "Barnsley 1–0 Cheltenham Town". BBC Sport. 6 August 2022. Retrieved 9 October 2022.
27. McKenna, Ben (8 October 2022). "Key Barnsley midfielder suffers broken leg and will be out for at least four months". Yorkshire Post. Retrieved 9 October 2022.
28. "REDS SUBMIT RETAINED LIST". www.barnsleyfc.co.uk. 24 June 2023. Retrieved 25 June 2023.
29. "Thomas Returns to Rovers". www.bristolrovers.co.uk. 24 June 2023. Retrieved 25 June 2023.
30. "Portsmouth 1–1 Bristol Rovers". BBC Sport. 5 August 2023. Retrieved 6 August 2023.
31. Swann, Alan (30 September 2023). "Bristol Rovers boss Joey Barton launches an astonishing outburst at his own player after 'inferior' Peterborough United beat his team". Peterborough Telegraph. Retrieved 2 October 2023.
32. Hargraves, Daniel (2 October 2023). "Luke Thomas' injury acts as double-whammy for Bristol Rovers after Joey Barton's criticism". Bristol Post. Retrieved 2 October 2023.
33. Hargraves, Daniel (3 January 2024). "The Bristol Rovers player who represents Matt Taylor's biggest success story at the Gas so far". Bristol Post. Retrieved 11 January 2024.
34. "Bristol Rovers 2–1 Portsmouth". BBC Sport. 26 December 2023. Retrieved 11 January 2024.
35. Hargraves, Daniel (21 November 2024). "Matt Taylor addresses reasons for Luke Thomas' recent exclusions from Bristol Rovers line ups". Bristol Post. Retrieved 19 December 2024.
36. "Thomas: "It's a very proud moment for me."". Barnsley Football Club. 6 September 2019. Retrieved 8 September 2019.
37. Luke Thomas at Soccerway
38. "Games played by Luke Thomas in 2015/2016". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 16 August 2018.
39. "Games played by Luke Thomas in 2016/2017". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 16 August 2018.
40. "Games played by Luke Thomas in 2017/2018". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 16 August 2018.
41. "Games played by Luke Thomas in 2018/2019". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 16 August 2018.
42. "Games played by Luke Thomas in 2019/2020". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 17 July 2020.
43. "Games played by Luke Thomas in 2020/2021". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 20 December 2020.
44. "Games played by Luke Thomas in 2021/2022". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 13 October 2021.
45. "Games played by Luke Thomas in 2022/2023". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 25 June 2023.
46. "Games played by Luke Thomas in 2023/2024". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 6 December 2023.

External links

• Luke Thomas at Soccerway