Ipswich Town are considering a move for Barnsley winger Luke Thomas when the January transfer window opens, we understand.
Manager Paul Lambert has been keen to bolster his attacking options for the second half of the season, admitting his side could use ‘a little help’, with a loan move for Thomas a real possibility.
The 21-year-old left-footer, who can play on either flank, has made 19 appearances for the Championship side this season but only seven have been starts, with Tykes manager Valérien Ismaël likely to allow him to move away on a temporary basis.
Thomas was previously at Derby before joining Barnsley for £1.2million in 2019, having spent the 2018/19 season on loan in League One with Coventry City where he played 44 games and scored five goals.
He impressed during his season with the Sky Blues and was a vital part of their attacking effort, though there were frustrations he wasn't able to score more goals from the chances he had.
During his time at Pride Park, where he played just twice for the first team, then manager Frank Lampard said of Thomas: “He offers something very different for us and he showed his skill and speed on the ball during pre-season.
“Luke knows there’s plenty of hard work ahead of him, as he continues to develop and improve, but he certainly has great potential to have a really good career in the game.”
As has been the case with the majority of Ipswich’s transfer targets during 2020, Sunderland are also understood to have shown interest.
Thomas was 20 at the start of the year, meaning he would not be classed as a ‘senior’ player should Ipswich recruit him. The Blues currently have their full quota of 22 ‘senior’ players under new League One salary cap rules, meaning should they bring in any players who were aged 21 or over at the start of the year they would need to either allow another to depart or simply leave them out of their declared league squad.
Wide areas have been an issue for Lambert during the course of the season so far, with Freddie Sears, Gwion Edwards and Keanan Bennetts all currently out injured, with dates for any comebacks unclear at this stage.
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