Luke Thomas (footballer, born 1999)

Luke Gerald Michael Thomas (born 19 February 1999) is an English professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder for 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. 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. He had a loan spell with National League North club Gloucester City during the 2016–17 season.

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. He signed a new three-year contract with Derby in October 2017. He was first named in a first team matchday squad on 31 October 2017 against Leeds United, 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.

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

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

In January 2021, Thomas joined Ipswich Town on loan for the remainder of the season. 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.

Bristol Rovers (loan)
On 10 July 2021, Thomas joined League Two side Bristol Rovers on a season-long loan deal. 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. 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. 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". 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. In January 2022, Thomas admitted that he deserved the criticism and had let people down. The season ended with Rovers getting promoted on the final day of the season, moving into the automatic promotion spots on goals scored.

Return to Barnsley
After speculation surrounding Thomas and a permanent return to Bristol Rovers, 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. 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. Following defeat in the play-off final, he was offered a new contract at the end of the 2022–23 season.

Bristol Rovers
On 24 June 2023, Thomas' return to Bristol Rovers was confirmed, signing a three-year deal. He scored his first league goal for the club on his second debut, an opening day draw with Portsmouth. 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. It was later revealed that he would miss a number of weeks with a hamstring injury. 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.

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.

Honours
Bristol Rovers
 * EFL League Two third-place promotion: 2021–22