Sunderland are now the most likely destination for Barnsley’s £1.2 million Championship winger Luke Thomas, as reported by the Yorkshire Post.
Frank Lampard might have felt that this diminutive little winger was a player with ‘great potential’ but, after failing to make a breakthrough at Derby County, his future at Barnsley suddenly looks uncertain too.
Thomas left Pride Park for Oakwell in 2019 and has found game time hard to come by since Valerien Ismael took over from Gerhard Struber in October.
In quotes reported by EADT this week, Ismael admitted that the 21-year-old could be allowed to leave this month with a handful of League One clubs expressing an interest.
Ipswich Town have been linked while Oxford United are also keen.
Although The Yorkshire Post, a publication with plenty of insight into events at Oakwell, believe that Sunderland are currently at the front of the queue with Thomas potentially on his way to the Stadium of Light.
This comes after Black Cats boss Lee Johnson confirmed his desire to bring in a left-footed player during the January window in an attempt to add more balance to a very right-footed squad (Echo).
“At the moment, we haven’t got a left footer in the team,” Johnson said after Saturday’s 0-0 draw with Northampton Town.
Thomas, then, would tick plenty of boxes, adding speed, balance and skill to an inconsistent Sunderland attack.
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