Middlesbrough were desperate for depth at left-back in January, and they managed to bring in what appeared to be a fine signing.
Luke Thomas came on loan from Championship rivals Leicester City, after spending the first half of the season at Premier League club Sheffield United.
Lukas Engel has been Boro’s first-choice left-back this season, having come from Danish club Silkeborg in the summer, but he was dropped when Thomas arrived.
However, after appearing in his first five games (three of which he started), he has been an unused replacement in Boro’s past four Championship games.
Fan pundit disappointed with Thomas
Dana, Middlesbrough fan analyst for Football League World, has expressed disappointment with Thomas’ performances at the Riverside thus far, despite the fact that there was little anticipation to begin with.
“I didn’t really have so much of an expectation of Luke Thomas when he joined Middlesbrough, I just categorised him as a backup left-back, because thankfully Lukas Engel has been fit and available for some time now.
“Other than that, we don’t have depth there, so Luke Thomas was a necessary pickup. But the fact Michael Carrick started him ahead of Engel was a real head-scratcher, and coupled with the fact his performances just weren’t up to par, it just raised eyebrows even further.
“So I’m glad Engel has regained his place in the starting eleven because I just wasn’t impressed with Luke Thomas whatsoever. He was wasteful in attack, there just didn’t seem to be a lot of positive outcomes from him from an attacking standpoint. Defensively, I think he was very suspect one-on-one and he’s not the strongest physically either, so I felt like in a battle with a somewhat quick winger, he just fell short.
“So overall, I would say I’ve been disappointed with his impact despite pretty much having no expectations of him when he joined.”
Thomas has underperformed
Thomas, 22, still has a long way to go in his professional career, and one disappointing season should not have a significant impact on it.
However, his pedigree will be hurt by the fact that he went from being a regular Premier League starter to being unable to join a mid-table Championship team in the space of one year.
With Leicester presumably not needing him and a possible promotion back to the Premier League on the horizon, it will be intriguing to see what happens with Thomas this summer.
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