Huddersfield Town: Ability to learn fast elevates Sorba Thomas to verge of Premier League

Not so long back in London’s east as opposed to west, he would wake up at the crack of dawn before setting out for a hard day’s graft on the building site amid the freezing cold. He can afford to smile about it now.

The story of the Huddersfield Town winger should really be a Hollywood film. As for who would play the lead role? ‘Will Smith’, he quipped when speaking to the media this week.

At the age of 16, Thomas was released by West Ham and the script looked written. He threw his boots and shin pads in the bin and when it came to footballing dreams, that looked to be that.

To make ends meet, he worked as a shop assistant for JD Sports and then as a scaffolder. Boreham Wood also called and thanks to the support of friends and loved ones, headed by his mum Gail, he didn’t give up.

He is one game away from reaching the Premier League and a return to the Hammers next season as not just a top-flight player, but an international.

It is a year which could end in him playing for Wales in a World Cup finals. After tomorrow’s showpiece, Thomas is expected to make the final cut for the Welsh squad who take on Scotland or Ukraine in another play-off final in eight days time.

It’s a good job he bought some new boots after that teenage disappointment after all.

Thomas, who signed a new contract recently, said: “For me, that (rejection at West Ham) was the first time I’d been told I wasn’t good enough and it was hard, it hit me very deep.

“But like I say to any youngster, when you have the right circle of mates and family around you, it helps massively and they got me back on the horse. Thankfully, they did because I wouldn’t be where I am if it wasn’t for them.

“I threw my boots in the bin, but people got me back to playing and I went straight to Sports Direct to get a pair.

“When I first went to Boreham Wood, I was working at JD Sports in Oxford Circus so I was there for a year. I did not like that at all.

“You get all different types of customers and in your head you are thinking “I really need to make it as a footballer, I cannot do this every week.’

“There was a little floor upstairs. As soon as they (shop management) found out I played football, they said you’re going to go upstairs. And apparently because I play football, I’ve got all the knowledge in the world of football boots. Crazy.”

As for those days in scaffolding, he added: “I thought up here was cold, but when you’ve done scaffolding at six in the morning, it’s freezing. I did not enjoy that at all. That was another one where I thought I need to make it as a footballer..”

Thomas’s honesty and self-depreciating manner is a tribute to him and all those around him.

Refreshingly, this is no academy-raised product who speaks in bland, hackneyed ‘football speak’, but has something to say through life experience. Real life.

It’s one of those stories which is good for the soul, quite simply.

Given his stellar rise, it’s hard to comprehend that Thomas joined Huddersfield less than 17 months ago from non-league.

He only made his first league start for Town on the opening day of the 2021-22 season. His last game for his club this term is at Wembley and he ends it as one of the most talked-about players in the Championship.

Thomas has not just had to step up amid one of the most competitive divisions in Europe, but also complete the equivalent of a crash course regarding what it takes to be a professional footballer – both on and off the pitch – a fair way from home.

Thomas continued: “I have had to learn how to cook because I had my mum doing everything.

“I had to learn how to work a washing machine. I’m lucky my missus is up here because if not I’d be in trouble.

“The nutrition is a massive difference. At Boreham Wood, they would advise you to eat well, but up here, they are on you.

“When I first signed and I was in the Holiday Inn, I’d try to sneak a pizza in and some chips and the next day the nutritionist would say ‘You had pizza last night, didn’t you.’

“I’d be like ‘How did you find out!’ You are having to learn to eat the right foods and you see in the long run how much it helps you on the pitch.”

Another vignette earlier this season wonderfully explains Thomas’s journey from humble non-league surroundings to being a Championship player better than anything else.

It came when he picked up his first win bonus with Huddersfield.

Taking up the story, Thomas – used to sharing money with team-mates at Boreham Wood – continued: “It was amazing. I remember them talking about the bonuses, I asked ‘Do we have to share this’ and they said ‘no that’s yours’, I said ‘that’s mine? So if we win, I get this’?

“I had a massive smile on my face after that. I was like ‘thank you’. It was good money. I bought a few trainers with it.

“I wasn’t on a lot, that’s for sure (at Boreham Wood). I needed those scaffolding shifts. I think I earned more scaffolding..”

Thomas – the player and the person – has enchanted Huddersfield supporters, team-mates and staff alike this season. Not to mention journalists.

There might just be another glorious chapter to pen on his special story tomorrow. And next Sunday. Given this season, you would not bet against it.