3/1 To Win
Derby County Under-23s wideman Luke Thomas has put pen to paper on a new three-year contract with the club.
The new deal will keep the 18-year-old forward, signed from Cheltenham Town in January 2016, at Pride Park Stadium until 2020.
It comes off the back of a fine run of form over September, which saw him nominated for the Premier League 2 Player of the Month award.
An exciting prospect, who was a regular in the Cheltenham first team matchday squad at the age of 16, Thomas has risen through the ranks at the Rams – starting with the Under-18s – to be a consistent and prominent figure in Darren Wassall’s Under-23s squad.
Since establishing himself in the starting line-up at the beginning of September, he has started every game and scored his first goal of the 2017/18 campaign in the harsh 5-2 defeat to Swansea City at the Liberty Stadium.
On top of his time with the Rams, the teenager enjoyed a fruitful loan spell at Vanarama National League – South side Gloucester City, where he was a regular starter over the second half of the 2016/17 campaign.
Darren Wassall, Derby’s academy director, says the loan move has proven to be the ‘making of him’.
Wassall told dcfc.co.uk: “Luke has been with us for a couple of seasons now. He had a slow start to his time at Derby, which is something he readily admits, but I think the making of him – and this is a lesson for all young players – was his loan spell at Gloucester City last season.
“He did really well and played several first team games for them and got really good reviews from their management team.
“When he came back into the fold last season, that experience of playing against men gave him the confidence to realise that he could kick on.
“He contributed at the end of the season to the Under-23s stopping up and he’s gone from strength-to-strength this year.
“He’s now cemented his place in the Under-23s side over the last six weeks and with his initial contract set to finish at the end of this season, the club has recognised his talents and he thoroughly deserves a new deal.”
Look out for full reaction on the news from Thomas will be available across dcfc.co.uk and RamsTV shortly!
