Thomas completed the move from Stoke City to Hull on deadline day
Sorba Thomas in action for Hull City(Image: Getty)
Sorba Thomas never lost sight of his dream to play in the Premier League even though his route to the top flight was a little longer than most.
The 27-year-old, who completed the deadline day switch from Stoke City to Hull City for an undisclosed fee, made his Premier League bow off the bench last Saturday against Aston Villa, and he now finds himself preparing for this afternoon’s trip to Chelsea.
Such games must have felt a million miles away for Thomas, though, when he was released by West Ham United at the age of 16 having spent his formative years in the Hammers’ system.
Being thrown on the scrap heap at such a tender age spells the end of the road for most youngsters, who are forced to give up on their dreams and look to either continue their education or enter the world of work.
Thomas followed the latter route, working at JD Sports and as a scaffolder to make ends meet, but crucially, he kept one foot in the game after joining up with non-league outfit Boreham Wood.
He continued to balance his football aspirations and working life until he was a regular with the National League side and he hasn’t looked back since.
His star showings for Boreham Wood ultimately earned him a move to then Championship outfit Huddersfield Town in January 2021 and in the five years that have followed the winger has gone on to represent Blackburn Rovers, Nantes, Stoke and even Wales.
However, for the Barking-born winger, those moves were all made with one goal in mind, to get him to the Premier League.
“From the journey that I’ve had from scaffolding and all that crazy stuff, now my family can see me playing in the best league in the world. It’s an honour, a privilege and I’m forever grateful to the club for making that dream come true,” Thomas said. “For me, it’s just made me more hungry already.
“I think I always believed. You’re seeing now a lot of non-league players coming into the league and then playing the Premier League. For me that kind of story made me believe and even though there was downs and a lot of people doubted me.
“I still believed that my time will come. And yeah, for it to come the past weekend, it was an amazing moment.
“The dark times I had to go through to get to where I am today, sometimes it’s hard to put into perspective. A lot of people probably won’t understand where I’ve come from, but it’s a journey that I would never change. I feel like it’s made me into the man I am today.
“I think it’s a story that I feel a lot of people can then believe in their dreams and chase their dreams whether you’re playing non-league at the age of 24, you’ve still got a chance, it’s just about taking it.”
“I’ve got a lot of good people around me in my circle that keep me grounded, keep me humble, always letting me know about the scaffolding days and my brother brings it up all the time, ‘there were times when I had to throw water in your face to wake you up to get to work’.”
Frustratingly for Hull City and for Thomas, though, the move from Stoke to East Yorkshire almost didn’t happen, with the Tigers seeing at least two bids rejected for the winger.
Ultimately, an offer was accepted on deadline day, with the deal being signed off, completed and announced just a few minutes after the 11pm deadline.
“I was hoping it’d get sorted sooner rather than later, but for it to go down to the wire was stressful,” Thomas added. “Whatever happened in the background happened, but for me, I was just about wanting to know where I was going to be, especially with a game in the evening for Stoke so I needed to know where I was going to be.
“It was getting closer and closer to the time when the meet-up point was for Stoke, so I needed to know and yeah, I got the call saying you’re allowed to go to a medical.
“From then it just came from the house to Manchester, then Manchester to Hull, it was a mental day.”
He added: “The interest was always there. I’ve tussled with Hull for a while now. Even when I was in France, there was a potential I could have came here.
“That didn’t happen, and then they come back in again the summer didn’t happen. So third time lucky maybe and it was just it was just very ideal.
“It was very, very close [before], but I think the conversation with Nantes at the time ended up coming too late.
“When we finally got the green light, it would end up too late and by the time I flew back at the medical and stuff, it wouldn’t have happened in time. I had a feeling at some point would meet again and thankfully we did.”
What shined even more of a light on the move was the fact that Thomas played against City in the first round of the Carabao Cup last month, after the Tigers had made their initial approach.
Ultimately, though, the deal was done and Thomas, who has 27 caps for Wales and over 300 career appearances under his belt, finally has the chance to live out his dream of being a Premier League footballer.
Nothing quite hammers that home more than taking on the likes of Aston Villa and Chelsea and the winger, whether he starts or comes off the bench, will relish every second of the Tigers’ trip to Stamford Bridge.
“[Chelsea are] one of the best teams in the world, one of the most successful teams in England so it’s a dream come true for my family to come watch me play in a stadium and an atmosphere like that,” Thomas said.
“There’s loads that I’m excited to be a part of. As a big Liverpool fan I can’t wait to play at Anfield, but these are these are games I’ve dreamt of.
“For me, it’s just about enjoying the moment but then proving to everyone that I deserve to be here. I’ve worked hard to be and I deserve to be playing on this pitch.”