Considering how much focus Phillip Cocu has placed on giving the next generation a chance at Derby County, the irony of Luke Thomas’s rapid rise will not be lost on anyone at Pride Park.
18-year-old duo Lee Buchanan and Jason Knight, not to mention the even younger Louie Sibley, have all caught the eye since the former Barcelona midfielder replaced Frank Lampard in the Derby dugout. But they’ve all been outshone by a diminutive playmaker by the name of Luke Thomas.
Just days after Cocu took charge at Pride Park, Derby sold their 20-year-old midfielder to Championship rivals Barnsley in a deal worth just £1.2 million, as reported by the Derby Telegraph. A penny for the Dutchman’s thoughts now.
Thomas set the tone with a goal on his Barnsley debut, a brilliantly taken individual effort in the opening day victory against a much-fancied Fulham. It was a fabulous effort full of ingenuity and opportunism, a strike anyone in the visitor’s star-studded ranks, from Tom Cairney to Anthony Knockaert, would have been proud to call their own.
That remains Thomas’s only goal in Barnsley red so far but he continues to stand out in Daniel Stendel’s struggling side. The Player of the Month award for August, voted for by Tykes fans up and down the country, was just rewards for his industrious displays.
And the accolades just keep on coming.
Thomas earned his first international caps at any level this week, featuring twice for England’s U20s and making his debut in a clash with Holland at New Meadow. Thomas described the occasion as a dream come true, not just for himself but for his adoring father too, in quotes reported by The Star.
“(Cocu) is not too fussed about your age just as long as you are playing well,” rampaging left-back Buchanan told The Mirror recently. “As a young lad, they tell you there’s a pathway, the history of the club is good at giving kids a chance.”
For all Cocu’s faith in youth, not to mention Derby’s proud history of promoting from within, it’s a 20-year-old The Rams let go who is emerging as one of this season’s breakthrough stars.
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